


Lovesquared

by ScriptaHistoriarum



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Multi, Overal fluff and cuteness, Some smexy stuffs tho, Yes Gabriel is Hawk Moth, but not a lot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-21
Updated: 2017-10-21
Packaged: 2019-01-20 19:11:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 58,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12439743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScriptaHistoriarum/pseuds/ScriptaHistoriarum
Summary: When Marinette and Adrien's feelings for each other and their alter egos start to dissipate and grow at the same time, secrets are bound to get revealed. Hawk Moth is still busy too, and is sick of the two heroes. He will get their Miraculous and defeat them, once and for all.





	1. Ordinary Love

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, everyone!
> 
> So, I don't really have any ideas about where I want to go with this story, but I do have motivation to write this, so we'll see where this goes. If you have any ideas, leave a review or PM me!
> 
> Hope you'll enjoy it!

Paris has never been more save. The two heroes, Ladybug and Chat Noir, are always ready to fight an akumatized villain. They also go on patrol every once in a while, keeping the big city even more save. Normally nothing happens during patrol, it's mostly just the two of them hanging out, having fun and getting to know each other. Most of the time it ends with Chat Noir flirting with Ladybug and Ladybug rolling her eyes and ignoring him, but that doesn't mean they aren't a great team. Even though he respects her decision of keeping their identities a secret, he is very eager to know who is underneath the mask, and will ty to pry it out her from time to time. Which is the case tonight…

''So, busy night. Right, M'Lady?''

''What do you mean, it's been calm all night. We have been sitting on this rooftop for almost an hour, just eating this bag of chips.'' Ladybug pointed towards the bag in between them.

''I'm surprised that you couldn't hear the sarcasm. Most of the time you're able hear it.'' Chat Noir smirked teasingly.

Ladybug rolled her eyes and grabbed another chip. ''Where did you get this anyway? The store that sells these chips is quite far from here, and you were back in just a few minutes.''

''Well, my house is in this neighborhood. I just got it from home. Next time you're allowed to come with me, you know?''

''Chat...''

''I know, I know. You don't want to know...''

There was a tense silence, the only sound being the crunching of the chips in their mouths.

''But… why not? Maybe we already know each other in real life and we could discuss everything when we see each other. We could maybe help each other with excuses to leave some places and save the day. It'll be easier, don't you think?''

Ladybug looked at Chat Noir and saw the tiny sparkles in his eyes combined with a wide smile. This wasn't the first time he tried this on her, and she knew that he desperately wanted to share their identities, but she was sure that wouldn't be a good idea. Like she said to him before: no one can know who they are, not even themselves. It was kind of heartbreaking though to say no to someone who was basically begging her to reveal her identity. The pleading just wasn't enough.

Ladybug put her hand on top of Chat Noir's, came a little closer and looked him in the eyes. She chuckled at the surprised look on his face, which was also showing that he was blushing a tiny bit.

''Look, I understand that it might be easier in some ways, but I can predict that there will also be a lot of trouble. Do you think the trouble is really worth it? And besides, having a little secret makes it all more exciting, doesn't it?'' She winked at him while getting up, stealing one last chip from the bag.

''A little secret, you say?''

''You know what I mean,'' she laughed.

''You're leaving already?'' he said, getting up as well and grabbing the bag.

''Yup, it's getting late. And I suppose nothing will happen tonight.''

''And yet again Paris is save because of Ladybug and Chat Noir,'' he said while flexing his arms.

''You do realize that we didn't do anything tonight, right?''

''Doesn't mean they can't give us credit for keeping the city save. People are just too scared to do anything, knowing that we'll be there in a sec, ready to kick their butts. And we almost finished this bag of chips as well! I call that an accomplishment.''

Ladybug shook her head and smiled. ''Goodbye, Chat Noir.''

She grabbed her yoyo and swung it on a lantern. She waved at him one last time before disappearing behind the buildings. Chat Noir sighed and saluted her as well before going the other way.

Even though he was kind of disappointed that he still didn't know who the love of his life really was behind the mask, he felt kind of happy too. She was right, a little secrecy could be exciting and interesting. And he noticed that she was warming up to him lately, laughing a lot more at his jokes, not being weirded out when they got close to each other, and they even had some deep conversations. They mostly happened when they were on patrol and had nothing to do. It was nice to just sit and talk and to get to know each other.

All these things gave him hope. He might not be able to know who she really was, but that doesn't mean that he can't confess his love to her. He had tried to do it past Valentine's Day, but that didn't turn out as expected. Ladybug did mention something about a kiss, but sadly he couldn't remember because he was under influence of Dark Cupid's arrow. He asked her multiple times what really happened that day, afraid that he might had done something bad, but she said that everything was all right, and he trusted and believed her.

He might not remember anything about the kiss they had apparently shared, but that only gave him more motivation to try and make a new memory. One that he would actually remember and hopefully she would too.

oOo

Marinette was walking towards class. Well, jogging towards class. Okay, she was running towards class, because she was incredibly late! She, together with Chat Noir, had stopped an akumatized villain this morning. It didn't take long, because both heroes realized very quickly that the akuma was hidden in the man's glasses. They broke the glasses, got the akuma and the town turned back to its original state, thanks to Ladybug's Lucky Charm. Even though it didn't take long, it still took enough of her time for Marinette to be late to class again.

''Got to run faster. If I'm just a tiny bit late, Miss Bustier might let me of hook this time,'' she said while panting.

The door to the classroom was already in her sight. She was so fixated on the wooden object that she didn't notice someone else in the hallway. Well, she didn't notice him until she bumped into him and ended up on top of him on the floor.

She looked at the stranger underneath her and realized that the stranger was no stranger, but Adrien. She immediately blushed, both from embarrassment and his presence. She just looked him in the eyes and gaped, turning redder every second.

''Well, that's also a way of saying good morning. I'm mostly tired in the morning too, but isn't falling asleep on someone else a little extreme?'' Adrien joked, smiling at the girl still on top of him.

For just a few seconds, Adrien's joke reminded her of someone else's joking attitude, but that disappeared when she became aware of the fact that she was still on top of him, not saying anything and just staring.

''I, eh, yeah sorry, I just, eh, wasn't paying attention, eh, yeah, I'm so sorry, hehe.'' Marinette finally blurted out, moving slightly so Adrien could crawl from under her and get up.

''It's okay,'' he said while getting up. He stretched out his arm so he could pick up Marinette, who was still sitting on the floor gathering her stuff. Eventually she took his hand and got up.

''Thanks,'' she said, still extremely red. She was sure that her blush would stay for at least half an hour. Great.

They eventually walked towards the door, Marinette forgetting why she was running in the first place. Before Adrien could open the door, it hit Marinette again.

''Oh my gosh, we're late for class!''

Adrien smirked. ''I know,'' he stated while rolling his eyes. It wasn't that he thought Marinette's outburst was overdramatic, he just thought she already realized she was late since she was running to class before bumping into him.

''But, what are we going to say? I can't be late again! And I don't even have an excuse… And you're late because of me, I ran into you. You shouldn't be punished.''

''I was late anyway, not because of you. And besides, if we get detention at least we're together.''

Adrien gave one of his signature smiles that could leave every fangirl of him squealing, before opening the door. Marinette just stood still, registering that Adrien just said that he wouldn't mind having detention if it was with her. She eventually felt a hand pulling her inside the classroom.

''So, Mister Agreste and Miss Dupain-Cheng. You are both 25 minutes late. Care to explain?'' Miss Bustier said, looking at both teens. She didn't sound angry or demanding, she actually sounded curious and maybe a bit concerned as to why they were late. Probably because this was definitely not the first time they were late, both of them.

Marinette remembered Adrien being late multiple times as well, but that was never a problem since he always explained that he had to do something for his father. Even though some of the excuses were quite unbelievable at times, they always took it since nobody wants to mess with the Agreste family.

''We're sorry, Miss Bustier. You see, I had to model for my father this afternoon, but I found out I didn't have time. I figured I had time in the morning, but then we realized that the model I would be posing with wasn't available in the morning. We spend a lot of time looking for someone but eventually we found Marinette on the street, walking towards school. She was just too nice and agreed to take the model's place if it wouldn't take too much time. And well, it took just a little more time than we thought. We're sorry.''

''Yeah, right. Marinette as a model. I would love to see that,'' Chloé's voice boomed through the classroom. Sabrina immediately backed her up by starting to laugh at her friend's rude comment.

Marinette lowered her head to the ground in shame, but looked back up at Adrien again when she heard him growl at Chloé's insult. She also felt his hand squeeze hers, which he was still holding ever since he dragged her inside. She didn't know though whether he squeezed her hand out of anger or because he felt the need to comfort her, either one would do.

''That's enough, Chloé.'' Miss Bustier sighed. ''It's all right, Adrien. Just don't let it happen again. Actually both of you should get detention, you have been late several times now.''

''I know, Miss. But this wasn't Marinette's fault. I asked her if she wanted to take the model's place. I take the full blame.''

In the meantime Marinette didn't say a word. She just looked at the two people having the conversation like she was watching a tennis match. Eventually she looked at Alya, who raising one eyebrow and motioning with her head towards Marinette's hand. Marinette's gaze landed on her hand as well and saw that Adrien was still holding it while having the conversation with their teacher. She immediately turned red, even more than she already was, and smiled awkwardly towards Alya. She smirked and gave her look that told Marinette that she should tell her all the details later. Not that there were many details to tell, but that didn't matter for now.

Marinette was pulled from her thoughts when their teacher sighed again, indicating that the conversation was over.

''Very well then. Just take your seat, both of you, so I can continue, all right?''

''Thanks Miss,'' the boy said. He smiled at Marinette, let go of her hand and walked towards his seat.

Marinette walked towards her seat as well, while looking at the hand Adrien had held. She sighed with disappointment because he had let go of her, but she already knew that would happen eventually, so she wasn't completely disappointed.

Before she sat down she realized that, since both she and Adrien were late, Nino had taken her spot next to Alya. She looked down at the spot next to Adrien that was empty. Adrien figured out what was happening, so he scooched over to his left and tapped on the seat on his right for Marinette to sit.

She happily took the offer and sat down. She smiled at him, said a quick thank you and put down her bag. She turned her head around and looked at Alya who was smirking and wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. Marinette smiled while blushing and turned her attention back towards Miss Bustier, trying to understand what she was explaining, but her mind wouldn't let her do that. Her mind was only saying one thing: You. Are. Sitting. Next. To. Adrien.

She put the thought away, only for it to come back again. And again. Aaaaand again. Darn it. The thought had made its way to the part of her brain where she would actually process what she was thinking. And then she processed it. She was sitting next to Adrien. She of all people was sitting next to Adrien.

She looked at him from the corner of her eyes, seeing that he wasn't paying attention and just looking at his hand tapping on the table. She kept looking at his hand, finding the tapping sound very calming. It actually made her stop blushing and cleared her head from all her thoughts.

He noticed she was staring at his hand. She had a calm and content smile, so he assumed she enjoyed the tapping. He changed the rhythm of the tapping to see if she would notice, which she did.

She got out of her trance and looked up at him. He smiled at her and chuckled softly. Crud. He caught her staring. She felt really embarrassed and thought that any second now she would turn red again, like she always does around Adrien. To her surprise that didn't happen. She chuckled as well and smiled back at him. What surprised her even more was that she actually started talking to him.

''So, what was that whole story about me being your modelling partner? You know that didn't happen.''

''Yeah, I obviously just made that up. You said that you didn't have an excuse so I gave you one. Friends got each other's backs, right?'' He whispered back.

''Yeah, that's right. Thanks again.''

He nodded at her before turning his attention back to the front of the classroom. There was a silence between them that wasn't actually awkward. It gave Marinette time to think about the fact that she just talked to Adrien without stumbling over her words. It was a big achievement certainly, but she was really confused. Normally she can't even say hello to him, and now she was so calm and at ease around him. Just a few minutes ago she was as red as a tomato by just standing next to him and now she was actually able to speak to him. She didn't know how long this would be, so she took the chance she had and started to initiate another conversation.

''Why were you late today?''

He turned his head towards her, while still glancing at Miss Bustier to see when she was looking at them. They were already late today, so they probably shouldn't make her mad at them for not paying attention.

''I'm sorry, what did you say?''

''I asked why you were late,'' she repeated. Marinette was completely surprised when Adrien's eyes widened and filled with panic after repeating her question. Did she just ruin it? Did she finally have a chance at a normal conversation with Adrien, but just ruined it because she had to ask her stupid question?

''I, eh, well, you see….''

Wow. She had never seen Adrien so at a loss for words before. It was pretty astounding to see him without his confidence and his charming smile.

''You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I'm not trying to pry,'' she said quickly, hoping to save the situation. She could already feel her cheeks heating up though.

''No, it's fine. I just, eh, don't really have a good reason. That's all. I just slept through my alarm. That's actually mostly the case when I'm late,'' he smiled back innocently.

Marinette internally sighed with relief at the normal answer she got. Obviously she couldn't not believe him when he was smiling with such innocence, but she knew that he was lying. She didn't know why, but for some reason she knew he wasn't speaking the truth. If he already lied to the teachers about his father, then it wouldn't be surprising if he lied to her about his alarm. It wasn't any of her business though. If he lied to her, he lied to her for a reason and she respected that.

''Yeah, me too,'' she replied nonchalantly. She had to lie as well, of course. She couldn't just say that she was late because she was saving Paris with her feline companion, like she does on almost a daily basis. Nope, couldn't say that to him, even if he was Adrien.

He laughed softly at her response. ''Well, I guess we got ourselves two sleepyheads in our class then.''

Marinette laughed too. The conversation was still going and was actually going well. The thing was though, she didn't know what to say anymore. She desperately wanted to keep talking to him, but she just couldn't find the words she wanted to say to him. Eventually she said the first thing that came to mind, and gosh did she regret it.

''So, do you want to go out after school?''

Her eyes became as big as dinner plates. Did she just really ask him out? Couldn't she just have said 'hang out'? Or even better, just keep her mouth shut.

''Like a date?'' He asked curiously.

She didn't know what to say. She just sat there gaping like a fish, no words coming out of her mouth. What had she done? She was so stupid. She finally had the chance to get to know him better and become better friends. But she had to ruin it. She just had to-

''I'd love that.''

Wait. Did he just really answer that? She wasn't surprised he assumed she meant a date, because she didn't respond. She actually didn't mean a date. Well, eventually she would want to ask him on a date and then they would get together, get married and get children, but that didn't matter now, because she wasn't at that step yet. Though if Adrien apparently was at that step, why couldn't she be?

''Yeah. So, eh, we just meet each other after school?'' She internally winced at the awkwardness coming back in her voice. Dang it, she also felt her cheeks becoming really pink now.

''Sure, that'll be great. I'm actually not allowed to make plans after school if my dad doesn't agree, but you can come with me. He can't send you away if you're already there, right?''

Marinette chuckled. ''Sure.''

Then the conversation ended and they both turned their attention back to Miss Bustier. Not that they were listening to her.

Marinette was internally screaming with joy. She finally asked her crush out! She obviously had to tell Alya right after class, no doubt about it. She was thinking about what they could do at Adrien's place, remembering how big his house was and all the stuff that was inside his room. It didn't matter actually, because at least they were hanging out together.

Adrien was slightly blushing and looking at Marinette from the corners of his eyes. He actually didn't really comprehend what just happened. He really liked Marinette. She was a good friend, very kind, not afraid to stand up against Chloé and, he had to admit, cute and pretty. He didn't mind going out with Marinette and was actually excited to see where this would lead, but he was afraid that the only reason he agreed to go out with her, was because he couldn't get someone else off his mind.


	2. Secret Love Song

Marinette was sitting together with Alya on a bench on the schoolyard. She just finished telling the whole story, freaking out when it finally hit her that she was going out with Adrien today.

''Girl, I'm so proud of you! You went from Clumsy Red Tomato to Confident Goddess around him. You deserve an award!'' Alya said while clasping her hands.

''Well, I wouldn't say that… I'm still as clumsy as I'll ever be…''

''Nonsense. You asked him out and didn't even faint when he said yes, so I stand by my point.''

''Whatever you say,'' Marinette grinned while taking a bite from one of her dad's cookies she always brought to school. She secretly smuggled a tiny piece of cookie inside her little bag for Tikki, hoping Alya wouldn't see.

''I'm proud of you too, Marinette,'' the tiny Kwami whispered.

''Tikki, be quiet!'' Marinette whispered back. ''But thank you.''

Marinette closed the purse again and glanced at Alya to see if she noticed the short conversation she had with her bag, but she was typing on her phone.

''What are you typing?''

''A new article for the Ladyblog. It is rumored that Chat Noir and Ladybug are a thing now, but nothing is certain. I'm just getting all the facts straight for my followers.''

The thought of her and Chat Noir being a thing would normally give Marinette stomachaches, but instead it gave her something else. It was a weird feeling in her stomach for sure, but it was more tingly… butterflies?

''What the heck!?''

''What?'' Alya asked with a raised brow.

Marinette immediately panicked. Did she just say her thoughts out loud?

''I mean, what the heck? How can they think that they're together?'' She replied, trying to sound as genuine and less awkward as she could.

''I know, right? They are good friends and a great team, but in a relationship? I don't think so.''

Marinette sighed softly in relief. Her feeling of relief was drained away though, replaced by alarmed feelings.

Did I just feel butterflies? How can I feel that way? It's Chat Noir we're talking about! That guy is cocky, uses way too many cat-puns, is always goofing off and flirting with me at bad times… how could I even be slightly interested in him? And of course, let's not forget about Adrien! Although, Chat is very loyal and kind, a good listener, cares about me and the other civilians, cute…

Wow, TIME OUT!

Marinette stopped her train of thoughts and just dumped her head in between her legs and sighed internally.

''Well well well, look who's coming by for a visit,'' Alya said.

Marinette looked up again by hearing Alya's voice. Her voice had a certain tone, and she only uses that tone when she's talking about- oh crud it's him.

Adrien walked towards the two girls on the bench, hands in his pockets.

''Hey, Marinette. Can I talk to you for a minute?''

Oh no. The way he said that phrase. He was going to cancel, wasn't he? First she was having these weird thoughts about her crime-fighting partner and now this?

''Sure, what's up?'' She said, her voice more high-pitched than she intended it to be.

''Well, it's about this afternoon-''

''What about it?'' She cut him off.

Dang it, Mari. Just let him talk. Don't jump to any conclusions yet. And even if he would cancel, he probably has a good reason, because he's Adrien.

''I hope you don't mind spending it at the park instead of my place. Nathalie just texted me and said my dad wants me to be at the Flower Festival.''

''The Flower Festival? Oh right, I forgot that was today. My parents are there too, selling cookies and what not in the shape of flowers.''

''Well, if you don't mind we can go there. It'll only take a minute of my time and then I'm all yours.''

Marinette felt lightheaded and thought she would collapse to the ground any second now. All yours. He said after he was done with whatever he was supposed to do he would be all hers. Of course, she wanted to reply that it was no problem at all, but her mouth wasn't working correctly as per usual around Adrien. Luckily, Alya was there to save her.

''I'm sure she doesn't mind, right?'' She looked at her friend with questioning eyes.

Still not being able to make her mouth do its job, she nodded with a smile.

''Wait, so you do mind?'' Adrien asked confused.

She nodded again. Then she frantically shook her head. ''No, me no- I mean, I- I don't mind. It's okay. It's fine. Totally cool!'' She ended with her usual awkward smile.

Adrien cocked a brow, but then smiled. ''All right. I have to leave early, so I won't be here right after school. I'll meet you there, okay?''

''S-s-sure.''

''Cool. See ya.'' He waved at both girls before leaving again.

Marinette laid down on the bench with her head on Alya's lap and buried her face in her hands. ''I'm such an idiot. What will he be thinking? That he's going out with a crazy awkward psychopath?''

''Or maybe that he's going out with a cute and funny girl who is just nervous? And besides, it's not like he hasn't seen you being clumsy and awkward when he's around.''

''Hey!''

''You know it's true!''

Marinette tried to slap Alya, but since she was lying down, Alya had the advantage. She crushed Marinette in her arms with all of her strength.

''Say it!'' Alya said with a grin.

''All right, all right. I give up. Uncle, uncle!''

''Geez, I thought you were better than this. You gave up so easily,'' Alya said while letting go of Marinette.

Marinette sat up straight and stuck her tongue out mockingly. Then the bell ran, indicating that the next class was starting.

''Calm down, Mari. Everything will be all right,'' Alya tried to soothe. It wasn't working though.

''I haven't seen him yet. Maybe he just left!''

''Or maybe he's still busy. It's only been, let's see, six minutes. Just chill out, girl. He'll be here any sec.''

Marinette closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she opened her eyes again and smiled. ''You're right. Let's go to my parents and see if we can steal a few leftovers!''

''That is the greatest idea you've had all day! And who knows, maybe he's waiting for you there.''

Alya could barely finish her sentence before she felt Marinette's hand around her wrist pulling her. She rolled her eyes at her friend's antics, but was glad she was excited and not freaking out anymore.

After a while the stand from Marinette's parents came in sight. The two girls walked towards it and greeted the adults.

''Hey, girls. How was school?'' Tom asked.

''It was fine, dad. Do you by any chance have some leftover cookies?'' Marinette asked with puppy dog eyes

''Well, it's still early. We don't really have leftovers, but we do have these macaroons.'' Sabine put the box in Alya's hands. ''They're good to eat, they just weren't looking pretty enough to sell.''

''Are you kidding me? These are beautiful, Miss Cheng,'' Alya exclaimed while eating a macaroon. ''And delicious!'' After grabbing two more she handed the box over to Marinette.

''Thanks, dear,'' the woman said with a content smile.

Marinette saw her mother looking to her left from the corner of her eyes. After returning her gaze to Marinette, a mischievous grin appeared on her face. Oh boy.

''You know, Marinette, I think one of your classmates is looking at you…''

Marinette aimed her gaze towards the spot her mother was looking at earlier and saw Nino and Adrien chatting, Adrien nervously looking her way. Once they both noticed each other staring, Marinette waved at him. He waved back and walked towards her, Nino following suit.

''Hey, girls,'' Nino said with a wide grin.

''Hey, Nino,'' Marinette greeted. ''H-hey, Adrien.'''

Adrien smiled back at her. ''So, you ready?''

''Ready for what?'' Marinette's parents asked in unison.

''Well, these two lovebirds over here have a date!''

''ALYA!'' Marinette exclaimed in embarrassment. She gave her a death glare, especially after she saw Adrien blush a tiny bit, but Alya just smiled teasingly in return.

''Really..?" Both parents asked simultaneously again.

Marinette could recognize the tone in their voices. She quickly had to get away from them, otherwise this could end up being very embarrassing.

''Yes, so we have no time to lose. Let's go, Adrien. Bye mom, bye dad. Love you!'' She quickly rambled. She grabbed Adrien's wrist and walked away from the stand as quickly as she could.

Nino and Alya chuckled when they saw Marinette dragging Adrien away, while said boy looked over his shoulder with a half-smile towards his friends and his date's parents, waving one last time with his free arm.

''Woah, hold on. Where are we going?'' Adrien asked, laughing at Marinette's behavior.

''Doesn't matter. Let's just walk around for a bit.''

''Okay, but can we do that at a slower pace maybe?'' Adrien slipped his arm from her grip and stopped walking. Marinette automatically stopped walking as well.

''Yeah, of course. Sorry, it's just…'' She rubbed behind her neck nervously.

''I understand, parents can be embarrassing at times.'' He gave her one of his signature smiles.

She calmed down and smiled back. ''Tell me about it. Although I don't think your dad acts like my parents.''

They started walking again at a slow pace.

''No, he doesn't. At least your parents know how to have fun. And they're great bakers!''

''Yes, they really are. Want to try?'' She handed him the box with macaroons she was holding.

He grabbed two macaroons, one for himself and one for Marinette. He handed her the macaroon and put the other one in his mouth.

''O my gosh, they're amazing!'' He said, still with his mouth full.

''Hey, I thought out of all people, you got manners!'' She teased.

Adrien reddened and swallowed quickly. ''Sorry.'' He said while nervously rubbing his wrists

Marinette stared at Adrien with surprise written all over her face. Did she just make Adrien blush? His face looked odd though, he was blushing for sure, but his eyes looked a bit sad, like he felt he was being scolded. Of course he was, but in a teasing way. Marinette didn't mean it of course, she just wanted to make the situation a bit more relaxed.

''I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it. I was just kidding. Eat however you like!''

Marinette face-palmed. Really? 'Eat however you like?' Just… really?

Adrien lowered his face towards the ground. ''You don't have to apologize. I know you were just joking, it's just…. I'm a bit….'

''Sensitive?'' Marinette finished.

''Yeah, you could say that,'' he answered with a chuckle.

''That's all right. Nothing wrong with a boy being sensitive.''

''Well-''

Screams filled the entire park. Marinette and Adrien both quickly looked and ran towards the source of the screams, which was a spot in the center of the park. From what Adrien could remember, a contest about who had the prettiest flower was being held there. Apparently one of the contestants wasn't really happy with the results, because she looked very akumatized.

''People of Paris, prepare to submit to the true rulers of this planet, plants! I, Fertility, am a mere seed in comparison with these beautiful creatures. They deserve to be atop the food chain, they are the real leaders. I'll do their bidding and spread their will!''

Out of nowhere, gigantic vines and branches started to grow from the ground, some grabbing people and holding them captive.

Marinette was paralyzed and stood there watching in awe. She felt Adrien's hand grabbing hers and pulling her away from the scene, her dropping the box with macaroons in the act. Once she realized she was just outside the park with a group of people, probably the survivors, she snapped back to reality.

''What are you doing, Adrien? What about all the people there? We need to go back and help them!'' Marinette said defiantly while crossing her arms.

''I know. That's why I'm going back. I'll see what I can do.''

''And leave me here? No way. I'm not some damsel in distress, I can help!''

She had to be careful, because her inner-Ladybug was coming out, but she couldn't just stand here and do nothing. She had to get away from all these people to find a spot to transform.

''I know that, Marinette, I really do. I just… I just want you to be safe, okay?'' He gave her a flick on the chin with a smile before running through the entrance of the park.

Marinette stood still and smiled for a few seconds, watching him run away. Then she snapped out of it and remembered what she needed to do: find a spot to transform.

She looked around to see if anyone noticed her. She did see her parents, so that was a relief. She also saw Nino, but no Alya. She's probably still in there, so before either Nino or her parents could notice her, she split herself from the group and hunched behind one of the stands.

''Tikki, quickly. Time to transform. Spots on!''

In just a few seconds Ladybug was standing there, ready to take down this 'Fertility'.

Ladybug ran towards the people captured by the roots, in the meantime looking around for Alya and Adrien, but no sign of them. She really hoped that Alya was safely outside with the crowd and that Adrien was somewhere around here, hopefully not in too much trouble.

''Now, where is that weed?''

She felt someone jump behind her, a tiny bell clanking. ''Seriously, naming the flower-like villain a weed? You got to be more creative, M'Lady.''

She turned around to see her partner standing there with a smile.

''Funny, but not the time. We've got to find Fertility and free these people.''

''Don't waste you strength. I already tried to get them loose, but those roots are like steal,'' Chat Noir said with a sigh. ''They'll be free in no time, once we find Fertility, so come on!''

He tried to jump away, but was pulled back at his tail by Ladybug.

''Hold on, Chat. We need a plan. You in a hurry or something?''

''Well, uh, kind of. I have… plans. So yeah…''

He couldn't tell Ladybug that he was on a date. A part of him just told him that he shouldn't say it. Of course, she probably didn't care. It's not like she acted on to his flirts, puns and quips. And every time he only mentioned something about them being a thing, she looked like she was ready to vomit. He still wanted her love, really. It just hit him recently that maybe it wasn't meant to be. Perhaps he should move on to someone else, like Marinette.

Honestly, he really liked her. More than he ever realized. He was always so clouded by his thoughts of Ladybug, that he didn't see what a great person she was. And he was having fun with her today as well, until it got ruined by Fertility. At first he was afraid he might only wanted to go out with her, because Ladybug wouldn't, and that wouldn't be fair to Marinette. But now he knew for sure that the only reason he wanted to go out with her was because he liked spending time with her.

''Hello, Earth to Chat Noir! You think that's a good plan?'' Ladybug snapped her fingers in front of him.

''Sorry, Ladybug. I was just lost in thought. But yeah, good plan. Let's go!'' He grabbed his baton and used it to jump onto a rooftop, Ladybug following behind with her yoyo.

''There!'' Ladybug pointed towards Fertility, standing on top of a building. She was controlling the plants and covering the building with roots.

''Fertility, stop it now!'' Chat Noir yelled.

''Oh, nature's creatures of creation and destruction here to stop me? I'd love to see you try!'' She laughed menacingly.

The roots around the building started to move, trying to grab Ladybug and Chat Noir. They jumped and ducked, dodging them all. Ladybug swung here yoyo on one of the roots and tightened it, hoping it would cut it. Sadly, it didn't work. Chat Noir was right: they were like steel.

''Ha, you thought that would work, little bug? Plants are one of the strongest organisms on this planet. My babies are so underrated, but they are stronger than you think. Nothing can stop them!''

She had to think quickly. She couldn't destroy the plants and she couldn't dodge them forever. She only had one chance before-

''Cataclysm!''

She saw Chat Noir using his Cataclysm on one of the vines, but nothing happened.

''Oh no!'' He exclaimed.

''Darn it, kitty! You couldn't just wait? Now you only have a few minutes left! I thought you agreed with my plan?''

''Well, to be frank, I didn't really listen…''

''Ugh, thought so. Well, doesn't matter now. Let's just do this quickly. Lucky Charm!''

An object appeared in the sky and dropped in Ladybug's hands.

''A bottle with juice?''

One of the roots tried to catch her again. She jumped away and hid behind a part of the water tower that was on the roof. She took a better look at the bottle she was holding and saw a label.

''Chlorosulfonic acid? What I'm supposed to do with that? I don't even know what it means!''

Chat Noir quickly jumped beside her and hid next to her.

''Come here, kitty, kitty. Come out and play. I won't hurt you and your little bug friend, but my little plant babies might, hahaha!'' They heard Fertility talk in the distance. She was on the other side of the roof, so she couldn't see and catch them. At least they had a little more time.

''What do have there?''

''Something called Chlorosulfonic acid, but I have no clue what it is and what I'm supposed to do with it.''

''Let me take a look.''

Ladybug handed the bottle over to Chat and looked around the corner to see if Fertility was near. She was still talking to herself and not even slightly near them, but she was getting closer.

Chat was looking at the bottle and around the area to see if there was something he could do with it. Then he looked up and noticed that they were sitting underneath a water tower. He face-palmed at the obvious answer.

''Okay, I got a plan. I can't explain now, but you have to trust me. Just let Fertility follow you and try to get her on top of the water tower.'' He pointed upwards, showing her where she had to lure the villain to.

''Are you sure your plan will work?''

''Definitely.''

Ladybug nodded. ''Fine.''

She stood up and showed herself to Fertility. After seeing Ladybug, she immediately controlled the plants covering the building, and directed them towards the heroine.

''Ha, missed me,'' Ladybug taunted. She had to make her angry, otherwise she would never follow her. ''Come and get me, you little seed!''

Fertility growled and let the roots underneath her carry her, hunting down Ladybug. Everything was going to Ladybug's plan. Well, Chat Noir's plan. She still had no idea what he was up to, but she believed that he was just waiting for the right moment to strike.

She jumped on top of the water tower and, as she assumed, a few seconds later Fertility was there as well.

''End of the line, Ladybug. Give up now and hand me your Miraculous.''

''I don't think so,'' a male voice yelled.

Chat Noir jumped next to Ladybug, grabbed her by the waist and snatched her yoyo. He swung it on a pole nearby the building and jumped of the roof, holding Ladybug.

''See ya, Fertility,'' Chat said before he and Ladybug were out of earshot.

Before she could reply, an explosion was heard. The water tower beneath her broke down and was falling apart. She couldn't even call her plants to save her, because she was already falling of the building. She thought this was the end, before she felt a wire across her ankle pull her up again.

Before she knew it, she was sitting on the edge of the building next to the building with the water tower. She was tied up by Ladybug's yoyo, held by Chat Noir.

''You know, Chat, the yoyo is my thing. If you wanted me to use it, you could have just asked,'' Ladybug said.

''I know, but then I couldn't have done that awesome stunt, right?''

Ladybug smiled and rolled her eyes. ''Right. Now, let's see. Where are you hiding, you little akuma?''

They were both searching the woman, who was grunting because she was tied up and couldn't control her plants anymore. Then they noticed the medal on the woman's neck. It was a fifth place medal.

''Ouch, fifth place out of five people? No wonder you were mad,'' Chat said before grabbing the medal and breaking it.

The akuma was free now, but not for long. Ladybug quickly grabbed it with her yoyo and after a while a little butterfly flew away in the sky.

''Bye-bye, little butterfly.''

''Good job,'' Chat said.

'We're not done yet,'' she smirked. ''Miraculous Ladybug!'' She threw the empty bottle in the sky.

Ladybugs were flying through the sky, cleaning the whole city from the plants, freeing the captured people and returning the city back to normal. Fertility, actually a woman named Mabel, returned back to normal as well.

''Pound it!'' Both Ladybug and Chat noir said.

''C'mon, let's bring this lady back to the park,'' Ladybug said.

She grabbed the woman and swung her yoyo across a lantern, Chat Noir following with his stick. This went on for a while until they were back at the park. People cheered and congratulated them on their victory. They waved back before sneakily leaving the park.

''I have a question. What did you do with that stuff inside the bottle? I remember it being empty,'' Ladybug asked.

''Chlorosulfonic acid is something that reacts violently with water. That's what caused the explosion in the water tower, I threw it in there,'' Chat responded with a proud smile.

Ladybug chuckled. ''And you knew that, because…?''

''I'm super smart, you know! There are multiple things you don't know about me. That's why I'm saying that if we know who we are, these kind of situations can be avoided….''

Both his ring and her earrings started to bleep.

''Perhaps next time, got to go. Bye, Chat.'' She waved before disappearing.

Chat Noir rolled his eyes before hiding behind a tree and transforming back.

''Let's go, Plagg, Got to find Marinette. And I'll get you some cheese as well.''

''Camembert!?'' Plagg exclaimed.

''Yes, camembert. It's always camembert, it's the only thing you eat!''

''Riiight…''

Plagg hid inside Adrien's shirt again. Adrien walked around the park to see if Marinette was there. Eventually he saw her and ran towards her.

''Marinette! Thank goodness, are you all right?''

''Yeah, I'm fine. You?''

''Yes, I'm good. What's the matter? You look worried.''

''I can't find Alya. I already asked Nino and he too said he didn't see her. I thought that when Ladybug and Chat Noir came back she would be there ready to film, but she wasn't. She's been missing ever since this whole fiasco started.

Adrien could hear the concern in Marinette's voice. He put a hand on her shoulder. ''I'm sure she's somewhere around here. Have you called her yet?''

''Yes, multiple times already, but she didn't pick up.''

''Let's go to your parents, maybe they have seen her.''

Marinette nodded and let Adrien guide her towards the spot where her parents were. He had his arm around her. She did notice, but she was too focused on finding Alya that she didn't care.

''Mom, dad, have you seen Alya?''

''Yes, dear. Just a few minutes ago. What's the matter?'' Her mother responded.

''We haven't seen her after all of this happened, and we were worried something happened to her,'' Adrien responded, tightening his grip on Marinette to comfort her.

''Well, she was fine. She was just a bit shocked by all of this, which I don't blame her for. She said she was going home and that we should tell you when we saw you,'' Marinette's father answered.

Marinette sighed. ''That's a relief. Thanks mom, thanks dad. I think I'm going home as well, it's been a rough day.''

''We understand. We'll be here for a while, so you can whip up some dinner for yourself, right?'' Her mother said.

Marinette nodded in response.

''Good then,'' her father said. ''See you tonight!''

''Bye.'' She gave one last hug to her parents before walking away, Adrien walking beside her.

''You want me to go home or…''

''No! No, I- I mean, if you want you can come to my place and I'll, uhm, feed you- I mean make some dinner!''

Adrien laughed. ''I take that offer. But only if you actually feed me.''

Marinette blushed and chuckled. ''Only if I can do it plane-style. You know, what they do to little kids?''

''If that's necessary,'' Adrien laughed.

They chatted for a while until they arrived at Marinette's house.

''Hm, you can even smell the croissants in there, even if the shop is closed,'' Adrien said while sniffing the air.

''If you like that smell, I'll let you smell-''

A ringtone interrupted the conversation.

''Sorry, that's mine,'' Adrien said with sigh. ''It's Nathalie, let me take this quickly.''

Marinette gave him an 'it's okay' look and searched for her keys in her bag.

''Hi, Nathalie, what's up? I was kind of in the middle of something. Uh-huh. Yes. But… I don't care what father says I just want- No please, Nathalie, try to convince him…. But…. Fine. See you in a bit.''

Adrien hung up and looked glum. Marinette looked at Adrien with concern. That phone call didn't sound good.

''You have to leave, don't you?'' She said, breaking the silence.

Adrien nodded. ''I'm so sorry, Marinette. It's just, my father, he-''

''No, it's fine, really. Just go home before he gets mad,'' she gave him a pitiful smile.

''Thank you.''

He started to walk away and Marinette tried to open the door, but Adrien turned around and walked back.

''Just so you know, I had fun today. Even though it was quite ruined by that plant woman.''

Marinette smiled. ''Me too.''

She wanted to turn towards the door again, assuming this was his goodbye, but then she felt his hand turning her towards him. He was suddenly really close, put a hand under her chin and pressed his lips onto hers. She immediately closed her eyes and put her hands on his chest. After a while they parted and looked each other in the eyes, both blushing.

There was a silence, just the two of them staring at each other.

''WELL, THAT JUST HAPPENED!'' Marinette unconsciously yelled.

Adrien put a step back at the sudden volume of Marinette's voice, but then he laughed at her reaction. Which made Marinette laugh as well.

They stood in front of the door for a few minutes, just laughing loudly. Eventually Marinette wiped a tear from the corner of her eyes and realized that Adrien really had to go now.

''You should go home, otherwise your father will be furious.''

Adrien sighed. ''Yeah, you're right. See you tomorrow, Marinette.''

She waved at him before going inside her house. She wanted to squeal with excitement and joy, but to her surprise she didn't.

She was really puzzled. She'd been longing for this for ages. Now it finally happened. And she didn't even need to kiss him, he kissed her! So why wasn't she happy? Why wasn't she basically dying on the floor because of her emotions?

Was it because of Chat Noir? Did her apparent feelings towards him take away the desire of being with Adrien? She didn't know, and she wanted to put it away, so she did. She just got kissed by Adrien, that's what was important. She obviously had to tell Alya immediately.

Then her phone rang. It was Alya.

''Speak of the devil,'' she said before answering the phone. ''Hey, Alya. What's up? You okay?''

''Yeah, I'm, uh, fine, Marinette. Listen, are you home alone?''

Marinette was baffled by her sudden question. ''Yes, I am. Why?''

''Can I come over? We need to talk.''


	3. Heart Attack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for a new chapter. It will be a bit shorter, but I have plans for a bigger chapter after this as compensation. This chapter will be a bit more Kwami-centered, since I think they deserve some love. :)

''Tikki, I'm freaking out!''

''Don't worry, Marinette. Just take a deep breath and focus on the cooking. That'll calm you down.''

Marinette did as her Kwami said and finished the wrap she was making. She wanted to take a bite out of it, but threw it back on her plate and sighed.

''I can't, Tikki. I can't let it go. We're doomed, I tell you, doomed! Alya knows, I'm sure of it.''

''What makes you so sure? It's not like she actually said 'you're Ladybug'.''

''True, but the way she sounded on the phone. She was so serious and, I don't know, not Alya-like." Marinette sighed and lowered her head.

''Maybe something happened that she wanted to talk to you about,'' Tikki soothed.

Maybe Marinette was right, maybe Alya did know, but they weren't sure of that yet. The best thing Tikki could do now was to keep Marinette calm so she wouldn't accidentally blurt out that she was Ladybug in case Alya didn't know.

''Could be, but it's not just the phone call. She wasn't there before, during and after the Akuma attack. Right before everything happened she was fine, but then she was gone and after she came back she told my parents that she was upset and was going home, she didn't wait for me," Marinette said, counting every argument on her fingers. ''Probably because she didn't want to talk to me, which is obvious if she figured out I'm Ladybug. If I found out that Alya has been a superhero all this time, I would need to have some time for myself as well before confronting her.''

''I understand your concern, Marinette, but try to at least eat something. There is nothing we can do now, we just need to wait for Alya to arrive. Think about happy things, think about Adrien!''

Marinette smiled and started to eat her wrap. ''Yes, Adrien…''

Tikki looked confused, since Marinette's smile turned into a scowl. "Is something wrong? I thought it went well."

"It did, it's just… don't you think it's weird that he kissed me? Like, he actually kissed me on the lips, not on the cheek or something. And I'm really happy that he did, but it's not really something Adrien would do, right?"

"Well, maybe he just got really excited because he really likes you!"

Marinette regained her smile again. "You're probably right, I shouldn't-"

A knock on the door was heard.

"Aaah!" Both Marinette and Tikki yelped.

"Marinette, are you okay?" Alya said through the door.

"Tikki, hide," Marinette whispered. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm coming!"

She opened the door to see Alya standing there. She had a stern face, not her usual smile. Something was definitely up.

"Hey, come in," Marinette said. "You want some dinner? I made wraps."

"No, thanks. I'm not hungry," Alya responded with no emotion in her voice. She walked inside the living room and sat on the couch.

There was a tense silence. They both sat on the couch. After a while, Marinette couldn't handle the silence anymore.

"So, what did you want to tell me? You sounded very serious on the phone."

Alya just looked at Marinette and didn't respond, probably trying to find the words she wanted to say. The silence was killing Marinette.

"A-Alya?"

Alya finally sighed. "We're BFF's, right?"

"Yeah, yes, of course we are. What makes you think any differently?"

"Okay, well, if that's the case, we should tell each other everything, right? No secrets?"

Marinette's eyes grew wider. She didn't like where this conversation was going. She swallowed thickly. "Yes…"

"Then can you explain this to me?"

Alya handed her phone to Marinette and pressed the play button on the video that was loaded. The sound was off, but Marinette definitely knew what was happening. Her eyes grew wider by every second she was watching the video.

At first you saw Alya talking to the camera, then filming Fertility and the captured people. After Fertility left, she started running. Marinette recognized the area as the spot where she transformed. After seeing Alya yelling, probably Marinette's name, the camera zoomed in on Marinette hiding behind a stand, eventually turning into Ladybug and running off screen. Then the video ended.

She didn't dare to say a word or look her in the eyes. She just kept staring at the black screen. Alya probably understood that there was nothing for Marinette to say, so she was the one to break the silence.

"I saw you in the park and called you, but you didn't hear me. I followed you, since you weren't going outside the park but deeper inside and then, well…"

Alya joined Marinette again in her silence.

oOo

"I'm an idiot, Plagg. A complete idiot," Adrien murmured with his face in his pillow.

"So you kissed a girl who you like. Big deal! It wasn't like she didn't enjoy it," Plagg said, chewing on a piece of Camembert.

Adrien frowned and threw one of his pillows on top of his Kwami.

Plagg crawled from under the pillow, the cheese stuck to his body. "Look what you did! Treating any kind of cheese like this should be illegal." Plagg started to lick himself clean.

"Whatever," Adrien said and he buried is face in his pillow again.

Plagg sighed. He hated seeing Adrien like this. He always tried to get Adrien to let loose, while Tikki helped Marinette get confidence. They basically tried to get the best out of their Kwami holders.

Adrien's life changed a lot when he met Plagg. Not just because he became Chat Noir, but also because he started to go to school. He got a lot of friends that changed him a lot. He started to make choices for himself and he stood up to his father more than he had ever done in his entire life.

He basically started to become his own person, not Gabriel Agreste's son. And even if the people at school didn't really notice, Plagg saw that Adrien sometimes was having a hard time adjusting to his new life.

"Look, you're overthinking this. Just let it slide and enjoy yourself."

Adrien turned himself around on his bed and was now facing the ceiling with his hand on his stomach. "I know, but what won't Marinette be thinking? Wasn't it kind of a jerk-move what I did? I really like her, I really do. But I'm not exactly sure how I feel and I don't want to mess with her.''

Plagg groaned. ''Look kiddo, there are going to be a lot of challenges, hard decisions and rough days in your life. I can tell, because I've been around here long enough. If things aren't going your way, you have to do something, not lie on your bed and cry-''

''I'm not crying!''

''The point I'm making, is that you just have to buckle up and try to direct the things the way you want them to go. Otherwise things will never go your way and you'll only stress yourself out over the littlest things."

Adrien kept staring at the ceiling in thought. Plagg was never the one to give him advice, he was mostly the one messing up and goofing off. Until now, Adrien never realized that all the things Plagg did, even the annoying things, were done for a reason. Plagg tried to guide Adrien, to shape him. Let him get out of his shell.

Adrien smiled at the thought that he was actually really lucky with Plagg. He wondered if Ladybug felt the same way about her Kwami.

Adrien turned his head towards Plagg and, before he could struggle, grabbed him and held him tight to his chest.

''Uhm, what are you doing?'' The tiny creature questioned.

''I'm hugging you.''

"And why is that?"

''Because… you're my best friend.''

Plagg was surprised at Adrien's answer. He was glad though that he managed to make Adrien smile again. He smiled contently and hugged him back.

oOo

"Did you post this video on the Ladyblog?" That was the first thing she could get out of her mouth.

Alya gave Marinette a pitiful smile and looked at her like what she just said was the stupidest thing she could ever say.

"Of course not. I'm not crazy."

Marinette sighed in relief. "You don't know what a huge weight off my shoulders that is."

"Yes, is do," Alya said with a smirk. She got up and sat next to Marinette, giving her a hug.

"Look, I'm not mad. I totally get it, secret identity and all. I was just shocked at the beginning, so I needed some time to myself."

"I understand. It's not like this is something you hear every day…"

Both girls laughed.

"And, you know, it's not like I didn't want to tell you. It's just that you're very dedicated to the Ladyblog and, well, Tikki told me I couldn't."

"Tikki?" Alya questioned.

"Yes, she's somewhere around here. Tikki? You can come out now, it's okay!"

Out of nowhere, the tiny Kwami appeared in front of them. Alya looked at her in awe, her jaw dropping.

Marinette chuckled. "This is Tikki, my Kwami. She's the reason I can transform into Ladybug and have all those powers. It's kind of like... magic."

"Oh my gosh, she is adorable! Marinette, she's the cutest thing I've ever seen!"

Tikki chuckled. "Well, thank you, Alya."

"Ahw, her voice is even cuter!"

Marinette smiled. "She's really nice as well, very helpful and gives me loads of advice and guidance."

"This is insane, Marinette. Superheroes? Fine. But magic? Flying little creatures? That's mental!"

"Indeed it all sounds a bit crazy and can be a bit overwhelming. That's why we need to trust you to keep this secret," Tikki spoke.

Alya nodded in agreement. "Absolutely. You can trust me, I'll keep my mouth shut. Oh my goodness, Marinette. This is going to be so exciting!"

Marinette smiled. "It really is. And, even though I never intended for you to find out, I'm really glad I can share this part of my life with you now."

They hugged again, a long hug.

"You know, now that I think about it, it actually makes sense. Why you were late to school so much, missing a lot and forgetful at times. Never there during any Akuma attacks…"

Marinette chuckled. "I'm actually surprised no one has figured it out yet. It seems obvious to me. Though I do understand that no one thinks that I, Marinette, could ever be the one and only Ladybug."

"Don't say that, girl. You're doing a great job! If I hadn't seen you transform I probably would have never figured it out. No offense."

"Well, that's good to know. And it's also good to know that I can trust you with this, Alya. You're the only person that knows now and I tend to keep it that way."

"Well, the only person who knows besides your feline friend, right?"

Marinette chuckled awkwardly. "Well…"

"He doesn't know?! And, wait, that means you don't know who he is as well?"

"Yep. We have an agreement. No one must know who we are, not even ourselves. But that was before…" Marinette pointed to Alya.

Alya nodded. "Woah, must be tough. Having to trust a guy who you don't even know."

"At the beginning, but I wouldn't want it any differently. I trust him with my life now, and I'm sure he feels the same way. Even if we don't know our true identities."

"Are you planning on telling him one day?"

"I suppose. He has been trying to get it out of me for who knows how long, but I always try to ignore it. Maybe one day I'll think differently about it, but not now. For now we will keep it a secret, right Tikki?"

"Yes, absolutely, Marinette," she said with a certain awkwardness. Unfortunately for her, Marinette noticed the awkwardness in her voice.

"Tikki? Is there something you're not telling me?"

"No, Marinette. I would never!" The Kwami defended.

"I don't know, sounds like you're hiding something," Alya said, joining the conversation.

"No!"

Both girls looked at each other and then back at Tikki with a thoughtful look on their face.

"You know, Tikki, you can tell me everything. I get that there are certain things you haven't told me yet, so just tell me. I won't be mad."

"No, I have nothing to say. It will only make you upset," she said, crossing her arms and looking the other way.

"Tikki, please. I can handle it," Marinette tried to argue again.

Alya was still in thought, thinking about what the little creature could be hiding. Then it hit her. You could practically see the lightbulb floating above her head.

"I know what you're hiding!"

"What?" Marinette and Tikki said in unison.

"She knows who Chat Noir really is. Would be logical though. If you have a, Kwami was it? Then he will have one too. They probably know each other and know who their 'owners' are."

Marinette gasped at Alya's explanation. It really made sense.

"Tikki, is that true?" Marinette asked her Kwami.

"…No…"

"I knew it!" Alya exclaimed.

"Tikki, you've known all this time? And you didn't tell me!"

"You both need to be ready to reveal your identities to each other. Whatever I may know or think doesn't have anything to do with that."

"I get that, Tikki, but you could at least have said something!"

Tikki sighed. "This is the exact same reason why I didn't want to tell you. You think about it too much. So, I know who Plagg's Kwami holder is, doesn't matter, right?"

"Wait, what? Plagg? Chat Noir's Kwami is called Plagg?" Marinette asked.

Tikki buried her face in her hands. "Oh no, this day is not going how I expected it to go."

Marinette took a deep breath. "You know what? Fine. I'll figure it out eventually, Chat and I both will. Whenever we're ready."

''Precisely. That's why I kept my mouth shut. But let's move to another subject. You haven't told Alya anything yet about how today went,'' Tikki spoke, obviously wanting to change the subject.

''She knows how it went, I defeated the Akuma.''

''I think she meant something else,'' Alya said with a smirk. ''I don't see your male company here, so I assume he went home. How did it go?"

Marinette started to blush slightly. ''Oh, that. It went… well. Yes, it went well.''

''That's it? It went well? No details? I'm pretty disappointed,'' Alya said with a pout.

''Well, some things have to stay a secret, right?'' Marinette winked.

Alya rolled her eyes. ''I suppose, but it's me! I want to know all the lovey-dovey goodness that's happening between you guys. So spill!''

''Oh, who am I kidding? I'm way too excited to stay silent. He totally kissed me!''

They both screamed like fangirls.

''Oh my goodness, girl! That's awesome. Wait, a peck on the cheek or…?''

Marinette gave a smug smile and pointed towards her lips.

''Even better! What happened afterwards? Did he stay for a while or did he leave?''

''Well, he had to leave because of his dad, so it was more of a goodbye kiss.''

''And?" Alya motioned with her hand for Marinette to go on.

''Well, after he kissed me, I totally yelled in his face. But we had to laugh about it, so I think it's all good.''

''You yelled in his face?'' Alya laughed.

''What do you expect? It's me we're talking about. You know how I get.''

Alya just shook her head and smiled.

Marinette sighed. ''But-''

''No, no, no! No buts. He kissed you, be happy about, end of discussion.''

''I know I should be, it's just… isn't it odd? Tikki disagreed with me, but maybe you think differently.''

''Why would it be odd? You were going on a date. Isn't that how dates normally end?"

"But we barely did anything together because of the Akuma attack. With all the time we spend together today, a peck on the cheek would be sufficient."

"And apparently he thought differently. I don't get why you get so worked up about it. The guy is totally into you. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"It is, but it just didn't feel right."

"What do you mean? The kiss or him going out with you?"

"Neither! Both? I don't know…" Marinette groaned and let herself slide from the couch to the ground.

"I sense some mixed feelings," Tikki said with a raised brow.

"I have to agree with you," Alya spoke.

"Like I haven't noticed that!" Marinette said sarcastically.

"Then think about why you have those mixed feelings," Alya offered.

"Exactly. What do you think is the reason why you have them?" Tikki finished.

Marinette started to think. Well, fake think. She knew darn well why she was having these thoughts. Not that she was going to share that with Tikki and Alya yet. She first had to figure out for herself what she felt and what she wanted before ranting to her friends.

"I don't know. I'll think about it later," she finally said.

Tikki was about to say something, but then the door opened, Marinette's parents entering. Tikki quickly hid behind Marinette and Alya.

''Hey, Marinette. Oh, hello, Alya. I didn't think you would be here. Are you feeling all right now?'' Sabine asked in a concerned way.

Alya looked at Marinette and then back at the parents in front of them, feeling Tikki clutching to the back of her shirt.

''Yes, I am. I was just a bit overwhelmed, but I'm good now.''

Marinette smiled at her friend, understanding the hidden meaning in her words.

''Well, that's good to hear. Oh, sweetie, where is Adrien? I thought he walked you home.''

''Woah, look at the time! Come on Alya, we have to do that thing for school, remember? That thing we need to do in my room?"

Alya immediately got the hint. ''Yep, that's true. I totally forgot. Let's go.''

She grabbed Tikki from behind her and cupped her in her hands. They went upstairs to Marinette's room. Only after they were in her room with everything closed off, Alya let go of Tikki.

Alya breathed out deeply. "Seriously, that was a close call. Almost too close. Your parents almost saw Tikki!"

Marinette laughed. ''Welcome to my life, Alya.''

oOo

It was the next day at school. Class hadn't started yet, so mostly everyone was in the classroom chatting with each other, though not everyone had arrived yet. Guess who were tardy again.

Again, Ladybug and Chat Noir saved Paris from an akumatized villain. Alya was showing the news footage on her phone, so mostly everyone was around her watching it. Because of that, nobody noticed that Marinette and Adrien hadn't arrived yet.

From the corner of her eyes, Alya saw Marinette sneaking inside. She casually sat next to Alya, not saying a word. Alya winked at Marinette and whispered 'good job'. Marinette was confused at the beginning, but understood what she meant when she started to watch the video on Alya's phone.

Shortly after that, Adrien snuck inside the classroom too, hoping that no one would notice his slight tardiness.

"Adrikins, there you are. I was already wondering where you were," Chloé said. She embraced him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Marinette saw it all happening in front of her, but didn't say a thing. She felt a hint of jealousy rumble in her stomach, but she didn't feel like making a scene. Besides, it wasn't like he was her boyfriend. Yet.

Adrien smiled awkwardly at Chloé and pushed her away softly. She was obviously offended and walked to her seat. At first Adrien wanted to apologize, but since he didn't want her all over him again, he just walked towards the group assembled around Alya and sat next to Marinette.

"Hey," he greeted.

Marinette smiled. "Hey. Almost too late again, I see?"

Adrien chuckled. "Well, you know how I can be.''

''A real sleepyhead?''

''Precisely,'' he said with a grin.

"Right," Marinette answered sarcastically. Another lie. She tried to brush it off, but she just couldn't. Why would he lie about why he is late, again? Maybe he was speaking the truth, but why didn't she believe him?

She noticed the puzzled look on Adrien's face. Probably because of her comment. She almost wanted to ask him why he was lying to her, but she pushed it away. Things were going so well right now, and she didn't want to ruin that by (maybe) wrongly accusing him. Instead she changed the subject.

''So, uhm, I never actually said thank you for yesterday. So… thank you.''

Adrien immediately smiled, forgetting Marinette's comment from before. ''You're welcome. I should thank you too. I never go out that much, since, you know, my father and stuff.''

Marinette smiled. ''I get it. And you're welcome.''

''We could do it again sometime this week, you know? Father has a lot to do this week, so he won't be bugging me all day. And my schedule is completely empty. At least for now.''

The first thing that came to Marinette's mind was to say yes, obviously, but apparently her mouth thought differently.

''Gee, Adrien. I'd love to, but…''

She saw his kind smile falter. What was she doing? The boy she really liked was asking her on a second date and she was rejecting him? And why, because she had feelings towards someone else? Someone who she never imagined being with until a few days ago? Her mouth and head were so not on the same page these past days.

''But?'' Adrien finally asked, Marinette realizing she never finished her sentence.

''But… somewhere this week is pretty vague. Tell me a day and I'll be there.''

Adrien's smile returned. ''Cool. I'll see if Nathalie has anything planned for me this week, but I doubt it since she's probably really busy with my father. I'll text you.''

He left again, returning to his seat because class was starting. Marinette was ready to focus on what the teacher had to say, before Alya gave her a quick tap on the head.

''Ouch!'' Marinette whisper-yelled.

''Serves you right. I heard your little chitchat. You almost messed up!''

''I know, I know. I'm a moron. But it's fine, right? Everything is okay.''

''If you say so,'' Alya said before turning her gaze towards the front of the classroom.

Marinette stared at Adrien in deep thought. There were multiple things on her mind right now. First, she was sure that Adrien was still lying about being late. Maybe others believed his excuses, but she wouldn't fall for it. It probably wasn't her business, but she just couldn't let it go. She wanted to know.

Second, her thoughts about Chat Noir. Ever since she acknowledged her feelings towards him to herself, she started to act weird in combat. That was also one of the reasons why she didn't want anything to happen anyway. She did notice though that Chat acted different as well since yesterday. He was really focused on getting the job done. He was less flirty and made less puns. Like he was not as interested in her like he used to, which made her feel sad to her annoyance.

She just had to get her head clear. Apparently Chat Noir wasn't having feelings towards her anymore. Fine. Adrien was getting feelings towards her. Fine too. If Adrien liked her, and she liked Adrien back, everything was settled, right? They could both be happy, and there would be no awkwardness between her and Chat while fighting any villains. But of course, things are never that easy in Marinette's life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love you all so much! I love reading all the reviews and seeing all the favorites and follows, it really keeps me writing.
> 
> I was glad that someone in the reviews pointed out that Adrien going for a kiss on the lips in the last chapter was a bit weird, because I totally agree. I wanted to have that firework, but I had the feeling a kiss on the cheek wouldn't do. Hence the kiss on the lips. I did wanted it to be a thing they're both worried about in this chapter, since it was kinda odd, and tada- the chapter was born.
> 
> Like I said, this chapter was short, but a bigger one is coming up. There is going to be a time skip of a few weeks and it's going to be Valentine's Day next chapter. What will occur and such will not be revealed, because I like to keep things secret.
> 
> If you cannot wait though, I'm always willing to give spoilers. Just PM and I'll tell you what I got (it can change though). If you have any ideas as to where you want this story to go, send me a message as well. I always like hearing other people's thought and opinions!
> 
> Also, am I the only one that screams Akuma every time they see a little moth or butterfly? Nope, just me? Man, this show really messed me up.
> 
> Have a great day!


	4. Me And My Broken Heart (Part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, bugaboos. Time for another chapter. Hope you'll enjoy!
> 
> As an extra note, the beginning of this chapter might be confusing, since it's a time skip and Marinette and Adrien act really differently around each other, but there will be flashbacks as to how they ended up like this. Just read and you'll see what I mean. :)

Ah, Valentine's Day. The day of love. Couples are spending time together and being extra sweet to each other. A certain couple not excluded.

Well, couple…. they weren't officially together. Yet. Maybe this Valentine's Day, that would change.

It was the afternoon. School had just ended and mostly everyone was spending their time at the park, because it was a beautiful day. The class had gathered themselves underneath a tree. It was just the whole class chilling at the park, talking and getting to know each other better.

Chloé was rolling her eyes and gagging more with every second she watched Adrien and Marinette. She already didn't feel like hanging out with the people from her class, but since her father had said that she should 'participate more', she couldn't refuse when the class planned to go to the park together.

Sitting here was one thing, but having to see her Adrien drooling over the girl she hated was just too much. Sabrina tried to calm her down, to no avail.

''Just look at them. It's sickening,'' she grumbled.

Marinette was drawing in her sketchbook. Adrien was leaning his head against her shoulder and watched her draw.

''I actually think it's kind of cute. They look very happy,'' Sabrina commented.

Chloé looked at Sabrina with devilish eyes. ''How dare you say that?! You know Adrien is mine. I knew him first, ever since we were little kids.''

''I know that, but if he doesn't feel that way then there is nothing we can do, right?''

''Untrue, we just have to break them up and then he'll fall for me.''

''Technically they're not even together yet, but I see what you're getting at. So, what is your plan?''

''They can't love each other if they hate each other, right?''

''Right.''

''So, let's just make them hate each other.''

''And how are you planning on doing that if it is like that now?" Sabrina pointed towards Adrien and Marinette again.

Right now, Adrien was trying to draw something in Marinette's sketchbook. Since he wasn't the best drawer, Marinette held his hand that was holding the pencil and guided him with a smile.

''Easy. In order to make them hate each other, you need to dig up the dirt,'' she said with a smirk.

Alya watched Marinette help Adrien draw as well. She thought it was adorable and silently teased Marinette with hand gestures and facial expressions, Nino backing her up. Marinette whispered to them that they had to cut it out, but that didn't stop Alya and Nino. Luckily, Adrien was too oblivious to notice.

''You know what? I can do this myself. I'm going to draw something for you,'' Adrien said, putting Marinette's hand away and flipping to a blank page in the book.

''Oh, really? You sure you can handle without my help?'' Marinette teased.

''Absolutely. Now hold still, I want to draw you, Mari.''

''Me?'' Marinette asked, a blush creeping on her face. It has been a while since she actually got nervous around him.

''Yes, now keep still. An artist is at work.''

Adrien stretched his hands before starting on his drawing. While he was drawing, his tongue started to stick out. Marinette chuckled at this, since she thought it was cute.

They have been going out now for weeks, maybe even months, and it was great. They were so comfortable around each other now. Marinette could actually speak to him without tripping over her own words. Sometimes they hung out at her place, sometimes at his and sometimes they would go somewhere else. It really depended on their mood, same was for how it would end. Sometimes it was just a goodbye, sometimes a hug and sometimes a tiny kiss. They were taking things slow.

Her thoughts about a certain cat didn't disappear though, even if she was really good at hiding them. When they were on patrol or fighting a villain she tended to stare at him just a few seconds too long, but she always shook it off very quickly. But shaking it off wouldn't work forever. If she really wanted Adrien and her to take a step further, and she did, then she had to talk it out with Chat. She sort of did that already (as Ladybug), but she never let him know it was him she was talking about. If she really wanted these thoughts to stop, she had to talk to him for real. As Marinette.

That wouldn't be a problem. He hung out a lot with her the past couple weeks. Not with Ladybug, but with her as herself. Why? She didn't know, but apparently he enjoyed her company. He just visited her every once in a while, much too Tikki's concern, using the same tap on the window every time to let her know it was him. She would open the window, let him in her room and they would just hang out. Sometimes she would be sketching in her notebook or doing homework, and he would just be lying on her bed talking about what happened during an Akuma attack. Of course, she already knew the stories, but she enjoyed listening to him.

She also noticed that he liked listening to her blabbering about Adrien. She would say how cute and handsome he was and he would listen to her with a pleased smile. She thought it was odd that he liked her talking about boys, but maybe he just enjoyed listening to her, not the subject.

''So, do you have any plans for Valentine's Day, Adrien?'' Alya asked with a smirk.

''Actually I do,'' he responded seriously, not taking his eyes of the paper.

''Really?'' Nino asked, using the same tone as Alya. ''What are you going to do, send someone a card?''

''No, but I do have someone special in mind.'' He glanced up and smiled at Marinette.

Marinette felt her heart skip a beat, not because she was surprised he meant her, but because his playful smile reminded her of someone else. Someone she shouldn't be thinking about. Why were all these thoughts coming back to her all of a sudden? And it had to be today! On a day like this she should be thinking about the boy in front of her, which she already did a lot, not the boy in the kitty outfit. She really had to talk to Chat Noir, fast. She quickly repressed the thought and smiled at him in return.

''And what are you planning on doing then?" Marinette spoke, joining the conversation.

''Well, I can't say that. What if my Valentine hears it? It needs to stay a secret,'' Adrien said with obvious fake concern.

''Is she around here then?'' Marinette said, keeping on the charade.

Adrien looked around the park like he was actually searching for someone. Eventually he looked back at Marinette. ''Yeah, she's pretty close by, so let's keep it silent, okay?'' Eventually he couldn't take it serious anymore and started to laugh.

Marinette started to laugh as well, before feeling his hand putting her up straight again.

''No, no. You're not allowed to laugh. You need to sit still so I can finish this masterpiece.''

''Is this how you always feel during your photoshoots?''

''You don't even want to know. But they're not always that bad. Sometimes it's actually fun.''

They went silent, Adrien calmly taking in Marinette's appearance and putting them on paper and Marinette scanning the park. It was always fun to watch people do their thing without them knowing you're watching. Her gaze landed on a couple holding hands. They stopped in the middle of the path they were walking on and one of the couple stepped in front of the other.

''Lisa, hold on. There is something I need to tell you. We've been together for a while now and that time has been the best time of my life. And, you know, today is Valentine's Day and I just- Oh, to heck with it, I'll just say it.''

The woman started to get down on one knee and opened a box, showing a ring inside.

''Lisa, would you make me the happiest person on Earth and marry me?''

Marinette started to smile and watched the scene in front of her in awe. Adrien, Nino, Alya and others started to follow her gaze and noticed it happen as well. They all held their breaths, awaiting the other woman's answer.

''Oh, Camilla. I don't know what to say… this is so…''

''You don't have to say anything but yes, dear. So, is it a yes?'' She looked at her with a sweet smile.

''I-I… I'm sorry, Camilla. I love you, but I can't do this.''

The woman, named Lisa, started to cry and walked away, very upset. Camilla got up and squeezed the box tightly in her hands. She sat down on a bench and sighed deeply, her head between her legs.

''Wow, harsh,'' Nino commented.

Yes, harsh was the right word. No other words were needed to describe the situation.

''Another Valentine's Day. Even though it is supposed to be the day of love, a lot of hearts are bound to get broken.''

Hawk Moth put one of his moths in the palm of his hands and turned it into a dark Akuma.

''Yes, fly away, my little Akuma. Break some hearts for me!''

The Akuma flew through the tiny window and headed for the park.

The woman on the bench didn't notice the Akuma coming for her. It fused itself with the box holding the ring, transforming her.

''Uh-oh,'' Marinette said.

The woman's clothing turned into a dark pink stretch suit with black, broken hearts on it. She had gloves as well, one pink and one black. She also had a gray mask in the shape of a heart.

She stood up, anger and determination the only emotions on her face. She looked around and saw a couple that was about to kiss. Apparently they didn't notice what was happening around them.

Camilla, now called Heart-Breaker, was running towards them with incredible speed. She was fixated on the couple, not caring if she ran into others. Before they could even try to run away, she touched them with her pink glove. The couple gasped before passing out and tumbling to the ground. Pink smoke came out of their mouths. Heart-Breaker inhaled it and sighed in satisfaction.

Okay, this was not good. Marinette looked around to see if she could find a place to transform. Since everyone in the park now noticed what was happening, they were running around and screaming. There was no spot that was abandoned. This meant she had to get out of the park if she wanted to transform.

The class started to split up, everyone trying to get out of the park as fast as they could. Being the protective person he is, Adrien grabbed Marinette's hand and directed her outside of the park, Nino and Alya following them. Marinette felt serious déjà vu, remembering the exact same thing happening with Fertility.

''Stay,'' he said once they were outside. He looked at her, waiting for a response.

Marinette rolled her eyes. ''Woof.''

Adrien walked towards the rest of the class together with Nino. They had gathered a few feet away from the park.

''Is everyone okay?'' Adrien asked.

Mostly everyone nodded in response. Some said their goodbyes as well, not wanting to stay here much longer.

''I got to go,'' Marinette whispered to Alya. They were outside the park now, but now that her whole class was here, she still couldn't transform. She had to go back again and see if she could find a tree or a bench to hide behind.

''You do your thing, I'll cover for you.''

Marinette gave her a quick a hug. ''You're the best.'' Then she sneaked inside the park.

Adrien was done calming down the people of his class and walked back to Alya.

''Where is Marinette?''

Alya looked around the area, pretending to be shocked. ''Oh no! I think she left. Maybe she went inside the park again. She's so righteous.''

Adrien sighed. ''Darn it, Mari.'' He was about to run inside the park as well, but Alya pulled him back by his sleeve.

''Woah, woah, mister. Where do you think you're going?''

''Going to get Marinette. I'm not letting her stay there on her own.''

''She doesn't need a hero, Adrien. She can easily take care of herself,'' Alya said defiantly.

''Oh, don't tell me. I know that. It's just that I don't want her to be alone in there.''

That was the last thing he said before pulling away from Alya's grip and entering the park.

Alya sighed. ''I hope I bought her enough time to transform.''

Adrien looked around the grounds, but didn't see Marinette yet. He did see a tree where no people were. The perfect and maybe only chance for him to transform. He jogged towards it.

''Plagg, claws out!''

oOo

''Thanks again for doing this for me, Marinette. This means a lot to me.''

''Of course, Adrien. I come from a family of bakers, so I'm always prepared to make something.''

''I know, but I just feel bad for bothering you with something this silly.''

''It's not silly. They're just cookies.''

''Exactly. They're like the easiest things to make, and you still have to help me like I'm some helpless child,'' Adrien pouted.

''That's because you never made them. After today, you'll be making them for me the next time, I promise.''

Adrien regained his smile again. ''I'll keep you to that.''

Marinette started to blush while shaping the cookies and putting them on the baking sheet. They both just worked in silence.

''I'm sure your father will love them,'' she said, hoping to get a conversation to start again.

''I really hope so. He was always obsessed with them when my mom made them for us. She always tried to make them extra special when there was a birthday, so I'm trying to replicate those for his birthday now.''

''And do they taste like your mom's?"

Adrien took a piece of the dough and put it in his mouth. He took a few seconds to really taste all the flavors, but eventually nodded and moaned in pleasure.

''Uh-huh. They're really great. I think nobody could ever make them like my mom does, but these taste amazing. Here.''

Before she could refuse, Adrien grabbed another piece of the dough and put it in her mouth. She felt his fingers brush softly against her lips and blushed at the gesture.

Adrien realized what he just did and understood why Marinette was blushing. ''S-so, eh, well, what do you think? I know you never tasted my mom's recipe, but I think you can imagine what it's supposed to taste like.''

Marinette swallowed the last bit of the dough. ''It tastes wonderful. But I already knew that. As the daughter of a baker, I know that you need to taste everything multiple times.'' She gave him a pitiful smile.

''Right. Taste everything before you actually use it. Noted.''

They started to shape the cookies again in silence.

''Wait, you already tasted it more than once? But I never saw you eat anything,'' Adrien realized.

''Ever since I was a little kid, I always wanted to taste what my parents were making, even if it wasn't finished. I've mastered sneakily stealing bits of food. I even do it when it's unnecessary. It's basically on autopilot now,'' she explained with a chuckle. She started to turn red all of a sudden, coming to a realization.

She just told him this humiliating story. What was he going to think of her now? Why it was humiliating, she didn't know, but to her everything she said to Adrien sounded humiliating.

Adrien laughed. ''Well, now I know who to go to when food is missing.''

Marinette laughed as well, her pink blush slowly disappearing. She quietly sighed in relief.

oOo

Marinette looked around the park, trying to find a spot to transform. There weren't any stands now to hide behind.

Eventually she caught sight of a tree in an area where there were no people. She quickly jumped behind it and was about to open her little purse for Tikki to come out of, but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

''There you are,'' the voice said.

She turned around to see Chat Noir standing in front of her, which was weird since she was convinced it was Adrien's voice.

Chat quickly realized his mistake. ''I mean, there you are, Purrrincess. Your friends were looking for you. It's too dangerous here, you need to go back.''

''I can decide that for myself, thank-you-very-much,'' she said with a sassy tone.

He sighed. ''Look, if you're not leaving I'll personally escort you outside of the park, on my back!''

Marinette scoffed. ''I'd love to see you- look out!'' She quickly dived and tumbled on top of Chat Noir. She felt her little bag consisting of Tikki falling off her shoulder.

They both saw Heart-Breaker swiftly passing by, almost touching them with her hand.

''Where there's love, there's Heart-Breaker to destroy it. I can sense it, I can feel it. It's disgusting, sickening. I will not rest until all love is expelled!''

Chat Noir looked at Marinette, who was still on top of him. He started to blush slightly. Man, was he glad he was wearing a mask.

''See? You need me, otherwise you would have ended up as a puddle of unconsciousness,'' she said. They both stood up. She looked around for her bag, but couldn't see it lying anywhere.

''I don't care what you say, you're leaving. No innocent bystanders.'' He grabbed and slumped her on his shoulders. He quickly ran towards the first exit he saw. He felt Marinette struggling and grumbling that he should let her go, but he didn't listen.

Heart-Breaker had noticed them again and was following them. She was really fast, so Chat started to run faster as well. She was still faster though. Chat knew that she would catch up to them any second now, so the first thing that came to his mind was to jump in a tree.

''Wow…. a tree. I feel safe,'' Marinette said, sarcasm dripping from her words. ''Isn't it kind of ironic though? You out of all people jumping in a tree?''

''Haha, very funny. But what was I supposed to do, let her touch us?''

''I could have picked a much better spot!"

''I know that this isn't the best place, but we wouldn't have made it anywhere else in time. She was way too fast.''

Heart-Breaker obviously saw them climbing up the tree, but she stopped and went the other way. She couldn't sense the love, now that they were wrangling. Luckily for her, other people were scared and holding on to each other. Enough love for her to steal.

Marinette and Chat both saw what was happening and jumped out of the tree, knowing they were safe.

''Did you see what I just saw?" Marinette asked.

''She went after other people when we were arguing,'' Chat said, coming to the realization as well.

''Exactly! Don't you get it? She meant it literally. She can sense love, but if we're fighting, then she isn't interested anymore. She is attracted to love.''

''Love you say? Then why was she going after us before then? Must mean we have some sort of connection, right?'' He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. He stopped himself from going any further, since he thought he shouldn't be flirting with her in his disguise.

Marinette sighed and rolled her eyes. ''You can't ever be serious, can you?''

''No can do,'' he said with a smirk. ''Look, I want you to go now, but that obviously won't happen since you're incredibly stubborn. If you're going to stay, you might as well make yourself useful. Follow me.''

She did as he said and followed him towards the center of the park. If she couldn't transform and help him as Ladybug, she indeed might as well help him in her civilian form. In the meantime, she had to look around for Tikki.

''Yoo-hoo, Heart-Breaker! Over here!'' Chat screamed.

She didn't even turn around and kept focusing on the other people in and outside of the park.

''Is she just ignoring me?'' He said quite offended.

''I told you, she is attracted to love. She doesn't care about anything else. It's like she's fixated on it.''

''Love, huh?'' A plan crawled inside his mind, if it was a good one was something else. He grabbed Marinette by her waist and pulled her close. ''Oh, my Princess. I love you. I love you with all of my heart,'' he said, not even trying to act well. He couldn't show her that he kind of meant those words, of course.

Heart-Breaker was not one to be fooled. She felt that the words weren't really sincere, so she didn't bother to turn around and kept doing her thing, more people passing out by her touch.

''Really, nothing? I literally said that I loved you.''

''It doesn't matter what you do or say, if she can't feel the love she won't respond. We need to do something else,'' Marinette said, releasing herself form Chat's grip like she didn't enjoy him being this close. Which was of course a lie.

''All right then.''

Before he even realized what he was doing, he pulled her close again, cupped her face with both of his hands and kissed her, deeply.

Marinette's eyes were so wide they almost popped out of her head. If she wasn't already having confusing thoughts about her friend, then this would definitely do the job. To her shame, she was actually kind of enjoying it. She closed her eyes and threw her arms around his neck. She knew why he did it, it was to get Heart-Breaker's attention, but a tiny part of her hoped it meant a bit more.

Heart-Breaker could definitely feel a big amount of love now. A kiss was much stronger than people holding onto each other because they were scared. She turned around and saw the pair smooching.

''I haven't felt this kind of love yet. It's so powerful. So strong. It needs... to be gone.''

She sped towards them.

oOo

Adrien was staring out of his window, looking at the stars. The sky was very dark tonight, so the stars were extra bright.

''Whatcha thinking about?'' Plagg asked.

''Nothing. Just looking,'' he replied not even bothering to take his eyes of the sky.

He caught sight of someone walking on top of the roof across his house. When he squeezed his eyes shut a bit to focus his sight, he saw it was Ladybug. Not that that was a surprise.

''Ladybug,'' Adrien said silently, mostly talking to himself.

He stayed silent and kept staring at her walking on the edge of the rooftop.

''Well, you going to her or what?" Plagg said with a sigh.

''Right. Plagg, claws out!''

Adrien transformed himself into Chat Noir. He opened the window he was staring through at first and jumped to the other building using his staff.

''Going for a midnight stroll, M'Lady?''

Ladybug didn't expect Chat to be next to her all of a sudden, so he startled her. She lost her balance and slipped of the ledge. Luckily, Chat Noir noticed fairly quickly what was happening and grabbed her with ease.

''A bit on edge tonight?''

She looked at him, no response.

''Get it? On edge?'' He started to grin and pointed to the ground, showing her where they were standing.

She did her usual eye roll and pushed his face away. She sat down on the ledge, her legs dangling. Chat Noir followed her lead and sat down next to her.

''What's the matter? Rough day?''

She mumbled something that he couldn't comprehend. Then they both stayed silent.

''Okay, I've been here for at least two minutes now and you haven't said a word to me yet. What's up?''

Ladybug looked at him. His voice sounded a bit annoyed, but he was actually smiling at her, patiently waiting for her answer. She looked away again and sighed.

''How… how do you know you're in love?''

Chat was baffled by her response. Not only did she finally talk to him, but she asked him an unexpected question.

''What do you mean?''

''Well, there are lots of times that you like someone. That you like spending time with them and just being in their presence. But when can you say that you actually love them?''

''Well, if you love them, that means you can't imagine your life without them. It doesn't have to be romantic. You can also love a friend. Do you have a best friend?''

She immediately thought of Alya. ''Yes, I do.''

''Well, you love them right?''

Ladybug nodded in response.

''Exactly. It's not romantic or anything, it's just that you can't even think about a day where you wouldn't talk to them. Love is respect and admiration. That you think about them.''

She smiled at his wise words. ''But how do you know if the love is romantic or not?''

''Well, from my experience, I think you can feel the difference. See, there is this girl, and I really like her. We're going out since recently. It's really fun and all, but now that I spend much time with her I can sense that different feeling. It just feels different than when you're with friends or family.''

She felt like her heart was shattering. She shouldn't be feeling this way, but she did. Chat Noir was in love with someone else. It was inevitable, she knew that. He was someone else behind the mask, just like her, and he had another life with different people. Of course he would find someone he would fall in love with.

It was also clear to her now why Chat stopped flirting with Ladybug: he was thinking about someone else.

''But does that matter?'' He interrupted her thoughts.

''For me right now? Yes, it does.''

''What, got a little crush on someone?''

''None of your business,'' she said with a smirk, not showing that she was on the verge of crying.

He put his hands up in defense. ''I'm sorry, just trying to help. But seriously, do something for me. Just close your eyes and think about what you feel for that person, that'll help. I'm sure of it.''

She followed his orders and did this twice, both for Adrien and her friend sitting next to her. Not that he would notice it. When she opened her eyes again she came to a conclusion she didn't expect.

She didn't love Chat Noir. For Adrien it was clear, she felt so much happiness and joy just thinking about him. Definitely love. But Chat? It felt different. She did feel butterflies, but they didn't feel the same. This wasn't love… this was… lust.

Yes, that was the right word to describe it. She didn't think about being in a relationship with him, but she did think about being near him. Holding her. Just… one kiss.

Her thoughts started to freak her out, especially since the boy she was thinking about was sitting right next to her. She admired and cared about him, since he has become one of her best friends, as Marinette and as Ladybug. But having these thoughts was weird to her. She turned towards him, hoping he would talk to her and pull her out of her own thoughts.

''And?"

''It worked, I guess.''

''So, does that mean you love them? Or did you not feel anything?''

She scoffed. ''I definitely felt something…''

He heard the unsatisfied tone in her voice. ''I have the feeling you're not happy yet.''

''Well, what would you do if I told you that I have certain feelings towards two people?''

He slowly nodded in understanding. ''Ai, that's a tough one. A love triangle, eh?" He tried to joke a bit to cheer her up, but she rolled her eyes at him for like the millionth time. ''Okay, okay, okay. I'll try to be serious, because this is a serious matter. Just tell me who these people are.''

She shook her head. ''Not gonna happen.''

''Why not? You can trust me. I'll tell nobody and I won't make fun of you for it.''

''Because…''

She gaped like a fish, staring at him with slight desperation in her eyes. Chat kept staring at her, waiting for her to finish her phrase. It was then that he spotted the look in her eyes. Like she was about to tell the most humiliating thing ever.

''You know what? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry. I understand it's something personal.'' He got up and extended his stick. ''Have a good night, M'Ladybug.''

He went the opposite direction to not raise any suspicion as to where he lived. After taking the detour, he eventually climbed through the same window again as how he left and de-transformed.

He looked out of his window and saw Ladybug still sitting there, looking up. She was probably looking at the stars and thinking about the conversation they just had.

''What are you doing? I think she was about to tell you!'' Plagg said in an exasperated way.

''I know. That's why I left.''

''I'm not completely following you…''

''The way she looked at me. She wanted to tell me, but she was embarrassed by it.''

''So?''

''I think… I think she was talking about me.''

''You? As in Chat Noir you?''

Adrien nodded.

''Well then, I thought that's what you wanted. She's finally falling for your idiotic behavior and now you avoid it?''

''That's because I don't feel that way anymore. I've started going out with Marinette now and I feel great. I don't want to mess things up with both of them. I don't want to hurt Ladybug's feelings.''

Plagg grumbled at the irony in Adrien's words. ''Fine. You do you, Casanova.''

oOo

Adrien felt like a moron. He just kissed Marinette in his disguise. Of course, it was all part of the plan, but he got a little bit too into it.

Eventually they parted, seeing Heart-Breaker coming for them. Marinette was the one to pay attention the quickest and stuck her leg out to let Heart-Breaker trip. As her plan worked, Heart-Breaker ended up on the ground.

''Good job,'' Chat said.

''Y-yeah, thanks,'' Marinette said, obviously turning red.

''Look, about the-''

''No, I get it. All to save Paris. Now you pay attention to your villain over there, then I'll search for Ladybug.''

Chat Noir looked at the villain on the ground, she was about to get up so he sped towards her. When he glanced over his shoulder Marinette was already out of sight.

''C'mon, c'mon. Where is it?!'' Marinette mumbled, searching for her bag in the park. She eventually saw it lying half open near a bench. She ran towards it and saw that Tikki was still in it.

''Marinette, there you are. What happened?''

''Oh, Tikki. Thank goodness. I'll explain later, okay? We have to help a little kitty now. Tikki, spots on!''

After transforming into Ladybug, Marinette jogged towards the spot where she left Chat Noir. He was holding down Heart-Breaker using his staff so she couldn't touch him.

''I'm here! Where is the Akuma?''

''Took ya long enough,'' he said. ''Here.'' He threw her a tiny box stuck to a thick bracelet.

She opened the box and saw that the ring in there was completely black. Definitely akumatized.

''The Akuma is in the ring, I suppose?'' She asked.

''Yep, I figured that out already. Really, if it wasn't for you needing to play pest control, I could do this all by myself,'' he said with a snicker.

She smiled at his lame antics, since she knew that wasn't true. They always helped each other, whether she was Marinette or Ladybug. She was about to take the ring out of the box and destroy it, but Heart-Breaker had different plans.

She suddenly jumped up and touched Chat Noir with her pink glove. He passed out immediately. Ladybug caught him in her arms, still dodging the pink glove that was coming for her as well.

''Chat Noir!''

''Hahaha, seems like your little kitten is out of the game. Just hand me you Miraculous and I'll see if I can fix him for you.''

Ladybug started to get angry now and grumbled darkly. ''Okay, that does it. Lucky Charm!''

A plastic toy gun appeared and she caught it in her hands.

''Hm, this'll do.''

She acted out on her anger, shooting the unlimited amount of foam bullets at the villain. She easily dodged them, since Marinette wasn't focusing on where she was shooting. It did keep Heart-Breaker at a distance, so it had the desired effect.

''A bit grumpy? I didn't hurt your love leopard, did I?"

She started to boil up now and fired more fiercely. Once she realized what she was doing she took a deep breath and halted fire. This wasn't the way. She looked at the ground and saw the box with the ring she had dropped next to Chat Noir. She looked at the unconscious cat sadly, before quickly grabbing the ring and breaking it. It released the Akuma.

The town was normal again after she captured the Akuma and used her 'Miraculous Ladybug' to change everything back. People who had passed out were waking up again, so did Chat Noir.

''Ladybug, what happened?'' He asked, still a bit woozy.

''Oh, Chat.'' She threw her arms around him and gave him a hug. He hugged her in return.

''Is everything okay?'' He asked, confused as to why she was suddenly hugging him.

''Yeah, everything is fine. I'm just… glad you're okay.''

He smiled at her and wanted to say something, but the bleeping of her earrings interrupted him.

''I'm going to leave now before I change back, if you don't mind?''

''You do that. See ya later, M'Lady.''

She waved at him. ''Bye, Chat. And a happy Valentine's Day!'' She left again, finding a spot to de-transform.

''Right, Valentine's Day, I almost forgot!''

He quickly scanned the park to look for the spot where he just sat with his class. When he found it, he rummaged through the stuff they had left in their hurry. After a while, he found what he was looking for.

''Bingo.'' He quickly grabbed the object and snuck outside the park before he would de-transform.

oOo

''Chat, stop it,'' Marinette said with a squeak.

''No, please. Let me continue! I like doing this, I almost got the hang of it."

''But you're hurting me!''

''Okay, sorry. I'll try to be gentler,'' he said, stroking through her hair with his claws again.

When he tapped on her window in his usual rhythm, Marinette had just come out of the shower. She put on her pajamas first before he was even allowed to enter. Her hair was still wet though, so she wanted to blow dry it. Chat Noir insisted on doing it for her, and combing her hair afterwards. She refused at first, but after a lot of pleading on his side she gave in and thus ended up in this situation. When he said he wanted to brush her hair, she didn't think he meant doing that using his own claws.

''Ouch! That's it. Knock it off!''

''No, no, no! I just got stuck with my claws. Please, Purrrincess?''

''Don't Purrrincess me. I already said that it hurts. What if my parents hear me yelp and come up? I don't even understand why you want this so much.''

Adrien couldn't say to her that the reason he wanted to brush her hair, was because he couldn't be this close to her as Adrien. She wouldn't let him, because she got too nervous around him, even if she was more relaxed with him than before. They held hands, hugged and kissed sometimes, but nothing too intimate. He wanted to be close with her and her flowery smell, her slight blush combined with freckles, her laugh. As Adrien he was getting closer with her, which is normal if you're going out. But they were going out for only a few weeks and things were still a bit… light. They were still nervous and careful around each other. Which was fine, but he actually wanted more. He didn't want to push her though.

As Chat Noir, they became friends quite easily and, he had to admit, quickly. He was utterly surprised by how relaxed and familiar Marinette was around him, given her normal anxious behavior. He didn't complain though. He liked seeing this part of Marinette. Stubborn, playful and really open. Especially about things or people like Adrien. He expected her to talk about her crush to Alya, as most girls do with their best friends, but he never thought she would put her heart out to him.

He liked it a lot. Listening to her talk about how sweet and handsome he was. That she really loved him even though she would never say that until they would be together for a bit longer (or just getting together in general). She said things to him she would never say to his face, Adrien that is, and he loved hearing how much she cared about him, because he did too.

''Well, it's not like I get the chance to brush a girl's hair every night,'' he finally responded.

''Really? I thought I was one of the many girls you visit in their bedroom every night,'' she said with an evil grin.

She was obviously messing with him, but that didn't stop his face from turning red. He was blushing so much that even Marinette could see it, mask or not.

''W- who do you take me for?''

''As a friend?'' She said, giving him a sweet smile to soothe him and let him know she was just kidding.

''A friend you say? You don't even know who I am.''

''True, but I don't need to. Just you is enough.'' She started to blush at the end of her sentence, much to her dismay.

He smiled at her words and was silent for a few minutes.

''So, how are things with your boyfriend?'' He eventually asked.

''He's not my boyfriend…''

''Oh, I'm sorry. What should I say then? Lover? Crush? Or mayb-''

''Stop it, okay?" She giggled. They ended up being silent again.

Chat was pushing himself to ask a question and it finally came out of his mouth. ''Do you want him to be? Your boyfriend I mean?''

He saw Marinette look at him as if she had think about something else first before answering. Eventually she started to blush and gazed at the floor.

''I do… I really want to actually. I just don't have to guts to say anything…''

''Well, maybe he'll make the next move? Who knows…maybe he can read your mind. It's Valentine's Day in a few weeks after all.''

They ended up in blissful silence until a beep interrupted it. Chat Noir looked at his ring and saw that two dots were already missing.

''What, seriously? I didn't even notice the first one!''

''That's because you were too busy pulling my hair out.''

No response came from him.

''No comeback?'' She asked with a pleased smile. ''No quip, no pun?''

''Nope, you got me right there. Touché.''

Marinette smiled. ''You need to leave.''

''Copycat that!'' He said before going to her balcony.

Marinette sighed and rolled her eyes. She walked with him to the balcony to say goodbye.

It was quite chilly, since it was winter. Luckily Marinette's pajamas were quite thick.

They both stared at the beautiful town of Paris, not saying anything.

''You know why I like you so much, Marinette?''

Marinette looked at him and shrugged. She really didn't get why he liked spending time with her. She was just plain, old Marinette. She actually was questioning the same thing about Adrien.

''Because you treat me normal. You're not some kind of fangirl that comes screaming after me. I'm really glad you do that. You treat me like I'm you're equal, which I am, but not everyone sees that. They don't get that there is someone underneath the mask, but you do. So thank you for that.''

Marinette had to smile at his sweet words. ''You're welcome. And I'm happy you think that way.''

They both stared at each other, not saying a word. Their faces were pretty close and Adrien really wanted to kiss her now, but decided not to since he was wearing his disguise. As Adrien he was really patient with Marinette, since he thought that was what she wanted. But as Chat Noir he was a total different person, especially around Marinette. He wanted 'more' for a while now, but could keep his patience as Adrien. As Chat Noir however…

He heard another beep from his ring and so did Marinette, but they didn't respond to it and kept staring at each other.

Adrien still had the urge to kiss her, but was mentally pushing himself back. He would have achieved it if he didn't breathe in through his nose and smelled her freshly washed hair. His body gave in to his needs and he felt himself leaning towards her.

She looked confused at him, since she obviously knew what he was doing, but she didn't stop him. She just stared at him, perhaps waiting for it to happen.

When he came partly back to reality he noticed how close he was to her. He couldn't back off now without making it completely uncomfortable. But if he did kiss her, things would even get more complicated. He went for a quick peck on the cheek, hoping she would see it as a friendly gesture.

She looked at him in surprise and started to blush violently. He couldn't see it though because it was too dark, thank the gods above.

He felt the situation getting awkward already so he did what he always does: use his puns. Preferably cat-related ones.

''Just a furiendly goodbye-kiss for my Purrincess,'' he said with a smug grin.

Marinette's shocked face turned into a smile. ''You got one dot left. Now get the heck out of here before I see who you are.''

''I wouldn't mind you knowing it, but I understand your concern. Have a lovely night, Marinette.'' He winked and saluted her before jumping from building to building until he was out of her sight.

Marinette went down again and crawled in her bed.

Tikki floated above her, a disapproving look on her face.

''What?'' Marinette asked innocently.

''Marinette, I always encourage you in your choices, but you're playing with fire here. This isn't the first time he visited you and I know it won't be the last. He almost revealed to you!''

''But he didn't,'' she retorted.

''What if he figures out you're Ladybug?''

''He didn't. And he will not until I'll tell him.''

Tikki sighed exasperatedly.

''I don't know why you're so upset, Tikki. You know who is behind the mask. Don't you want me to found out as well?''

''I do, Marinette. Eventually, when you're ready.''

This was like the millionth time she said that to her and it was starting to get on her nerves. ''So I'm not ready, you say?''

''Honestly, you're not. You have a lot to learn and to discover before you're ready.''

''All right. Then tell me what I need to discover and I'll discover it.''

Tikki gave her a look. Marinette knew exactly what that meant: discovering means figuring things out on her own.

She turned off the lights and wanted to go to sleep, but not before asking one last question.

''Is Chat Noir ready? Or can't you tell?''

''The truth?'' She felt Marinette's head shake up and down. ''He isn't, at all. Even though he believes he is.''

That actually got her mind at ease, knowing that she wasn't trailing behind him. ''Okay, thank you. Goodnight.''

''Goodnight, Marinette.''

They both fell asleep quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was part one! Part two will be coming up soon, I'm already busy with it. If you're interested in why I chose to write this chapter (and the upcoming) like this, read the rest. If you're not, then just skip the bottom part and I wish you a miraculous day! :)
> 
> As you might have noticed, this chapter was not chronological. It started with a big time skip and had a lot of flashbacks. The reason why I did that, will be explained now.
> 
> I think it is obvious I was working up to Adrien and Marinette getting together, no doubt. The first three chapters were basically one day and I thought that if I would write the development of their relationship in such detail like I did before, we wouldn't be finished until chapter thousand. I had a lot of ideas about dates they could on or situations they could end up in. I would write a full chapter just for those 'scenes' and fill in the rest of the chapter with gibberish. I didn't want that, so I chose to move the story a bit forward and use the scenes I wanted to write as flashbacks as to how their relationship ended up being as it is right now.
> 
> Hope that cleared things up a bit. If you have more questions or thoughts, share them with me, 'cause I always love reading them!


	5. Me And My Broken Heart (Part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's part two. Not much to explain, just the continuation of the last chapter. It's all a bit dramatic, but who doesn't love drama, right? Enjoy!

Marinette was on her balcony, looking at the pretty sunset. There were a few dark clouds, but that didn't make it any less beautiful. After this hectic day she needed the relaxation. That didn't stop her from being nervous and annoyed though.

She was nervous because Adrien texted her, saying she needed to be home at eight. He would pick her up to go somewhere. That's the only thing he said. It was only half past seven now, but she couldn't wait any longer and stood on her balcony to wait for him to arrive.

She was annoyed because with everything happening today, she still didn't talk to Chat. And what happened today didn't really help either. At first she thought that it actually might help her. She got that kiss she was longing for, wouldn't that satisfy her and make her stop thinking about him? Apparently it didn't, because she still did think about him. Maybe nothing changed because it wasn't real, it was to attract the villain.

This meant she had to talk to him at some other time, but she actually didn't feel like doing that right now. After today she just wanted to be with Adrien and no one else.

From the corner of eye, she saw something black moving from building to building, eventually ending up behind her. She didn't even bother to turn around, knowing who it was.

''What do you want?"

He was really surprised at the sudden unkind response. ''Just saying hi and thanking you for helping me today.''

She didn't respond and still didn't turn around.

''Are you mad at me?'' He put a hand on her shoulder, but she moved it in order to shake his hand off. ''Well, that answers my question.''

Marinette grumbled.

''Why are you acting like this? What did I do?''

A sigh on her part.

''…..I'm sorry?''

Marinette reluctantly turned around, not expecting him to be so close. He was literally inches away from her face, so she walked to the other side of the balcony to hide her sudden pink cheeks.

''We need to talk,'' she said after pulling herself together.

That sentence was never good, and he knew it. He kept staring at her, signaling her to go on.

''We need to stop seeing each other.''

He did not anticipate that. ''Oh.''

''It's just dangerous. If anyone figures out you're sneaking in my room at night, people will talk. That'll be bad for your image, both our images."

This was the truth, but not the main reason Marinette wanted to stop seeing him. He was a very good friend of hers, both as Ladybug and Marinette, but if her weird feelings towards him could risk her identity being revealed or endanger her relationship with Adrien, it maybe was better to put things to an end. Of course, she wouldn't say that to him, she had to think of something else to say.

"And, not to make this about me, but what if someone knows I'm friends with you and uses me as bait to get to you and Ladybug? I'm not willing to risk my own life.''

He started to come closer to her. ''You know I'll always protect you. You don't have to be afraid.''

''It's not that I'm afraid, it's just that I don't want to put our lives in danger.''

''I promise you that won't happen. Just trust me.''

''But what if I'm not sure if I can trust you?'' She said a bit louder, confused at her sudden outburst. So was Chat.

A short silence.

''…What if I showed you who I am? Then you'll know who you can trust.''

''No, that would only make it worse.''

''But if I can guarantee you that you'll like the person behind the mask, would that change your mind?'' He started to come even closer now, so she couldn't escape his questioning eyes.

He really felt like this was the right moment. He had chatted with Plagg over a million times, saying that he wanted to tell her. Plagg said that he shouldn't rush it and that he had to be absolutely sure about it before confronting her. He did also say that he trusted Adrien's judgement and believed that when he would tell her, it would be the right time.

''What makes you so sure?'' She noticed him getting closer. She stepped backwards with each step he took towards her until her back hit the wall. She couldn't escape his gaze now.

''I just am.''

To be honest, he wasn't. He expected two responses from her if he would tell her. Either she would be delighted and proud of him or she would smack him in the face for messing with her for so long.

He was willing to risk the second one.

''Do you want to know who I am?" Ladybug would probably kill him for asking this question to a 'civilian'. But Marinette wasn't just a regular civilian, Adrien thought.

He was so close to her now, he could feel her breath on his face.

After being silent for a while, she eventually shook her head. ''No.''

He did not expect this answer after all his arguments. This is not how he wanted this conversation to go. To his shame, he snapped. ''What, why not? It would only make things easier. You're just like Ladybug, she always refuses as well!''

''Well, maybe she has a good reason!''

''I can't believe this!''

''Your charm won't work on everyone, kitty. I'm not gonna say yes just because you want me to!''

It ended up being a screaming match between the two, both saying things they actually didn't mean. Marinette really had to repress the urge of pushing him off the balcony. Eventually she couldn't handle it anymore and started to cry. She almost never cried. Especially since she's become Ladybug.

He never intended to make her cry. Seeing Marinette cry was the last thing he wanted and it broke his heart. He said a lot of things without thinking. Before he actually processed what he said he had already yelled it at her. He regretted it so much. He pulled her close to hug her, but she pushed him away. He didn't blame her. Every time he tried it again, she tried to escape his grip. After doing this multiple times he grabbed her even more tightly so she couldn't even try to push him away. He held onto her while silently whispering 'I'm sorry' over and over again. She eventually relented and held onto him as well, her tears dropping on his suit.

After she was calming down a bit, he softened his grip so she could at least breathe freely.

''I'm sorry too. I never meant to say those awful things. I just believe it's for the best if things go back to the way they were, me just being a civilian. Not your friend.'' She still sobbed a tiny bit.

''I understand.''

He wiped a few tears off her cheeks, giving her a sweet smile in the process. He already hugged her to comfort her, but he didn't feel like that was enough. Anything he did wouldn't be enough. He could never forgive himself for doing this. Making her cry was unforgivable. At least to him. He was hoping Marinette could forgive him, even if he felt like he didn't deserve it.

''Can you forgive me?'' he asked.

Marinette smiled through her tears. ''Of course.''

Nothing could describe the feeling of relief and utter happiness he felt. He was so glad, that he stopped thinking again and kissed her. This was the second time they kissed so passionately like this, and they both didn't happen while he was himself. He mentally kicked himself for doing this, but couldn't push himself to stop.

At first Marinette wanted to push him away, but she quickly gave in and kissed him back. This is something she wanted to do with Adrien, but never dared to. She was always so shy and nervous around him, even if she was way more relaxed around him than she used to be. With Chat Noir things like this were easy to happen, because she never felt a hint of shyness around him.

This wasn't right though, even if it felt that way. When they calmed down and parted, shock was written on both their faces.

''Leave. Now.''

Chat nodded at her command and left without even saying goodbye.

Marinette went back to her room and laid down on her bed. She was really confused. Didn't Chat say to her that he was going out with a girl? Why would he suddenly kiss her? Okay, stupid question. Why would he suddenly kiss her for real?

And another question: why the heck did she kiss him back?! She felt like the worst person ever. Even if they weren't technically together, she has been unfaithful to Adrien now. She could never take back what happened. It wasn't like her to kiss a guy just because she was attracted to him.

She had tried so hard to push her thoughts about him away, to resist him when he was near her. And it would have worked if he would have just left. It was all ruined because that stupid cat had to be irresistible.

Wait, that was not true. He flirted with her, he kissed her, that was all him. This all happened not because she didn't resist him, because she did. It happened because he couldn't resist her.

If that was the case, was it all really her fault?

Tikki was patting her. She was actually thinking about a lot. Not only did she want to ask the boy what in the world he was thinking by doing this, but she also thought that these two Miraculous holders were one of the most complicated duos. And that said something, considering the fact that she's been here for thousands of years.

''Marinette, someone's here for you!''

Adrien. Oh no, Adrien. She couldn't see him now! Could she? Did she need to tell him what just happened? Not today, right? But she felt so guilty, she couldn't hide this. She needed to come clean and deal with the results. But he will have a lot questions. She didn't know what to do.

''I'm coming,'' she yelled down the stairs.

She felt like she didn't deserve going on a date with him now. He didn't deserve her, he was too good for her. He wasn't kissing people he wasn't supposed to kiss. He was kind, sweet and always-perfect Adrien.

Marinette walked down the stairs, trying to hide the redness in her eyes.

''Hey, Marinette,'' Adrien greeted. He looked at Marinette and saw her eyes were still a bit red. He felt so bad, but tried to act neutral. ''You ready?''

He wondered if she would tell him what just occurred. After all, she didn't know it was him and she would think she kissed another boy. Knowing Marinette, she was probably internally freaking out.

''Yeah, let's go.'' She was glad he didn't notice the redness in her eyes, if he did he would have said something.

They both didn't really sound excited, but pretended they were.

''So, where are you taking me?''

''That'll stay a secret until we get there. It's just a short walk. If you don't mind walking, of course.''

''No, no. It's fi-''

A rumble was heard. They both looked out the window and saw it was pouring.

''Oh no,'' Marinette said. ''Your plan isn't ruined now, right?''

''No, it's fine. We just need to walk through the rain, but that's okay.''

''Wait, I go grab something,'' she said before disappearing in her room. After a minute she came back with an umbrella.

Adrien recognized the object immediately. ''D-did… did you keep that all this time?''

Marinette started to blush and smiled. ''Yeah…?''

Adrien smiled back at her. ''Let's go.''

They said goodbye to Marinette's parents who wished them a great evening. They both walked in silence holding hands. The only sound they heard was the sound of raindrops hitting the pavement and the umbrella. It was very calming.

oOo

Alya and Nino we're sitting on a bench just in front of the school, watching a video. This won't come as a surprise, but Chat Noir and Ladybug have saved Paris again from an Akuma attack. They were watching the news feed on Alya's phone, Alya mostly watching it to get all the info for her blog.

It was then that Adrien appeared around the corner and walked towards them, stretching his aching back. He fell down from a building during the fight. His suit may be indestructible, but that doesn't mean he won't have some bruises or isn't sore every once in a while.

''Hey, guys.''

''Hey, dude,'' Nino greeted back. ''You gotta check this out, it's about Ladybug and Chat Noir.''

''What about them?''

''Only that they saved Paris again, like always. You've been living under a rock or something? Don't you read my blog?'' Alya interrupted.

''I do, sometimes. I'm just not that invested in those two. They're awesome heroes all right, especially the cat-dude, but it's not worth all of my time.''

Alya huffed, quite offended. ''Well, this video won't take all of your time, so just watch. You need to watch Ladybug in action, she looks awesome in this vid. She's the bomb!''

He was about to sit next to them when they heard a thud next to the school. They looked at each other in confusion. Nino shrugged and Alya put her phone to camera, ready to film whatever was happening.

The trio carefully looked around the corner to see Ladybug standing there, putting her yoyo back on her waist.

''Ladybug?'' Adrien said just too loud.

Ladybug looked up and noticed the three teens staring at her. ''Oh, ehm. Hi.''

''Woah, awesome. Ladybug right in front of us. You gotta film this for your blog, Als.''

''Right,'' Alya said awkwardly, obviously knowing that Marinette came back here to change back. ''I don't want to bother Ladybug though if she's not in the mood.''

''No, it's all right. I got some time left,'' she said, pointing to her earrings to show she had a few dots left.

Alya relaxed and walked to Ladybug with her phone, Adrien and Nino following her close behind.

''Eh, what's up peeps! I'm here with Ladybug next to my school, joined by my pals over there.'' She pointed the camera to Nino and Adrien, then returned it to her best friend again. ''So, Ladybug, you just fought an Akuma thingy with Chat Noir. How was the fight?''

''Well, as you can see, everything is okay again. We won the battle and we'll be ready for the next.''

''Uh-huh, so nobody got hurt?'' Alya asked, trying to keep the questions simple so her friend could leave as fast as she could.

''Yeah, no bystanders got hurt and the akumatized civilian is doing okay. Only Chat Noir hurt his back pretty badly, so he'll be feeling that for some time. But we can handle it, after all, it's the job.''

''I think that's a great way to end the video. So guys, this was another awesome video with the amazing, beautiful and rocking Ladybug. See you next time, Alya out!'' She turned off the camera on her phone.

Ladybug smiled and blushed slightly at her best friend's compliments. Alya has been fangirling even more over Ladybug now that she knew.

''Thanks a lot for the chat, Ladybug. I'm bound to get more followers now!''

''The pleasure is all mine, Alya was it? Your blog is called the Ladyblog, right?''

Alya rolled her eyes. ''Yes, that's correct.'' An evil smirk appeared on her face. ''By the way, have you met my friends yet?'' She grabbed her by the arm and pulled her towards Nino. ''This is Nino…'' She took her to Adrien now but 'accidentally' tripped so the heroine fell in his arms. ''…and this is Adrien.''

With his superhero reflexes he caught her quickly. He looked down to her and she looked up. The mask was hiding most of her face, but he could swear that he saw her blush.

It felt like an eternity. Ladybug and Adrien kept staring at each other, not saying a word. She felt her heartbeat in her throat gong faster with every passing second. She was really close to him now and had the urge to embrace him, which she of course couldn't.

''Hehe, I'm sorry. I tend to be clumsy." She pulled away and stood up straight. "But yeah, I remember Adrien. I helped your dad one time, remember? ''

''Yes, I do. Thanks again for that.'' Even if the situation was quite awkward he pulled himself together quite fast. He probably wouldn't have done that if this happened a few months ago.

She waved it off. ''Tch, no problem, It's the job.''

Her Miraculous beeped once.

''Woops, look at the time. Gotta go, secret identity won't be so secret anymore if you see me, right? Bug out!'' With that she left and de-transformed someplace else around the school.

Nino, Alya and Adrien walked back to the entrance of the school, knowing class was about to start. Marinette appeared and waved at them.

''Hey, girl!'' Alya waved back. ''You really missed something, we just talked to Ladybug.'' She winked at Marinette.

''Oh shoot, really? Ah, darn it, I always miss that stuff. Well, I'll be there next time, I hope.'' She winked back.

The four walked inside the school. Marinette noticed Adrien stretching his back, his face twitching in pain.

''Everything all right?''

''Yeah, I just… hurt my back.''

''Ahw, come here.'' She pulled him close, gave him a kiss on the cheek and started to rub his back, never considering the fact that her partner hurting his back as well to be an odd similarity.

Adrien looked at Nino and Alya from the corner of his eyes, seeing if they could hear his complaint and maybe connect it to him being Chat Noir, but luckily they did no such thing. He sighed in relief as the bell started and they took their seats.

oOo

''Oh my, Adrien. This place is so… overwhelming.''

They entered a very big restaurant. Marinette didn't even recognize the place, probably because she's never been here. She assumed you need a lot of money to be able to afford this place, not that that was a problem for Adrien.

''If it's too much we can go somewhere else… I don't mind.''

''No, it's perfect! Let's just take a seat.''

Adrien nodded and they walked to a man behind a desk.

''I have a reservation on the name of-''

''I'm sorry, young man. There are no tables left.''

''But I put a reservation-''

''There are no tables left, good day.''

Adrien grunted, knowing that the only reason the man was rejecting them was because he and Marinette weren't all 'fancy looking'.

He sighed, hating to do this, but everything for Marinette. ''My name's Adrien Agreste. Does that change your mind?''

The man's eyes became wide and he eventually smiled. ''You know, I'll see what I can do. It's Valentine's Day after all.'' He walked away.

''Sometimes I really can get enough of people…''

Marinette smiled and gave him a comforting side-hug. The man returned and assigned them to their seats.

''This place is beautiful, Adrien. You didn't have to do this,'' Marinette commented.

''Tch, everything for you. And you know, the food is even better. I used to come here a lot with my father when he had some meeting and couldn't get rid of me. Right now I can just stay home alone. Well, with Nathalie.''

''Something tells me that a little kid and a fancy restaurant aren't the best match. Especially if your dad was busy with his work.''

''I may have caused some trouble in the kitchen when I snuck in there…''

Marinette started to laugh. ''Don't even tell me what you did, I can sense where this is going.''

''Okay, but I'll tell you this. It ended with me being covered in pasta sauce and leaving a trail of tiny footsteps throughout the whole restaurant. Took them hours to clean it.''

They both laughed and eventually ordered their food when the waiter came. After a while the food arrived and they started to eat.

''Oh. My. Gosh. This food is amazing!" Marinette said with her mouth full.

Adrien smiled at her antics. ''Watch out for the weird rich guys. They might stare at you for eating like that.''

Marinette huffed. ''Let them stare all they want, they-''

''Adrikins!"

They both spat out their food at the obnoxious voice.

''Right when my day was starting to get good,'' Marinette grumbled.

''What do you want, Chloé? Can't you see we're in the middle of something?'' Adrien said when she arrived at their table.

''In the middle of what? Teaching her how to behave in a restaurant? That's gonna be hard if she can't even follow the dress code…''

Adrien sighed. ''Chloé…''

''Anyway, the reason I'm here is because I want to ask you something. Did you watch the news yet?''

Adrien was surprised at her weird question. ''No, I didn't have time. Why?''

''Oh, well they say a lot about what happened in the afternoon during that evil villain attack. Marinette, did you know you made the news? It's everywhere.''

''What.'' Marinette said, her heartbeat going faster.

''Yeah, look.'' She handed her phone to them so they could both watch the video.

Not only are people safe, thanks to Ladybug and Chat Noir, but people are also confused. Apparently, Valentine's Day is not only for the status-quo, but for superheroes as well. Chat Noir was seen being romantic with another teenage girl in the middle of the park. The girl is known as Marinette Dupain-Cheng, daughter of famous baker Tom Dupain and Sabine Cheng.

The video showed the two of them kissing during the Akuma attack.

People said that it was used as a tactical move to attract the villain, but they didn't remember much after the villain used her powers on them. If this is the beginning of a romance or not, we don't know. Nobody has seen the feline-like hero after the attack, but we are sure to get the answer out of one of them eventually.

The video ended and Marinette didn't know what to say. Of course this wasn't the kiss she felt guilty about, but would he believe her if she said that it indeed was to help Chat?

''I can explain…''

''No, you don't have to. Adrien is smart enough to know that he can never trust you again," Chloé said with a pleased smile.

She didn't even have to 'dig up the dirt' to get them to hate each other, it presented itself.

''Chloé, stay out of this,'' Adrien said.

Chloé gasped in a dramatic way. ''Adrien, you can't be serious. You can't just let her get away with this!''

''I just wanna hear her part of the story first,'' he replied calmly. He looked at Marinette and smiled. ''Go ahead.''

She didn't get why he was so calm about this. ''I-I-I…''

She could easily say that it was to help Chat Noir, it was the truth. But the feeling of guilt she felt because of the second kiss was too much. She felt tears heat up in de corners of her eyes. Great, first she never cried and now twice a day. Best Valentine's Day Ever.

''Excuse me,'' she eventually said and walked towards an elevator nearby. She started to get attention now, especially now that she started to sob loudly.

''Marinette!" Adrien yelled, but she didn't hear it.

She already closed the elevator door. He got up from his seat and wanted to follow her, but Chloé grasped his arm.

''Don't waste your time, Adrikins. She ran away, if that doesn't prove anything.''

Adrien could easily keep his cool around Chloé, he was used to her after all these years. He would tell her off when necessary though. This time he was furious and wasn't just going to tell her off. At least, that's what he wanted to. He also didn't want to make two girls cry today. He inhaled deeply hoping to hold back a lot of bad words he wanted to say to her.

''You know what Chloé? You need to stop poking your nose in other people's business. Because you don't know the half of it.''

With that he left and entered the elevator. Chloé's jaw dropped to the floor. She didn't say anything and stood still, watching him leave.

oOo

''You're so going down! A-choo!"'

''Uhm, excuse me? I'm going down? Says the person who's already covered in feathers.''

Adrien looked down at himself and had to agree that Marinette had a point. He was covered in feathers, while Marinette was still partly clean.

''Okay, yes, you're a lot cleaner than I am, but we can change that.'' His smile turned into an evil smirk. He grabbed one of his big pillows and started running after her.

She faked a yell and started to run away. To her surprise, Adrien was really fast and caught up with her really quickly. He snaked one of his arms around her waist and used the other hand to grab the feathers from inside the pillow. He pulled out as many feathers as he could at a time.

Marinette closed her eyes and just let the rain of feathers cover her. She could try to struggle and escape his grip, but she knew that Adrien was a lot stronger than she was.

Eventually the pillow was as good as empty, so he pulled the pillowcase over her face and stepped away with a grin. She was so going to be pissed at him.

With a bit of effort, she got the pillowcase off her face. ''You're dead, Agreste.''

He didn't expect her to jump on him, he totally wasn't prepared for that. She did it anyway, so he yelped at the sudden weight on top of him. They ended up on his bed and laughed.

''You're crazy. If I didn't catch you, we would be going to a hospital now. A-choo!'' Adrien said, breathing out another chuckle and sneezing once more because of his allergies.

''We'll be going to a hospital anyway if we don't get those feathers away from you quickly,'' she said with a playful smile.

He smiled back at her, plucking a few feathers from her nose. He came a bit closer and was obviously leaning in for a kiss. Marinette was quite baffled by this, since they hadn't really shared a 'big' kiss yet except for the first one. Since she was kinda into it as well, Marinette let him. She closed her eyes and leaned in.

Adrien's bedroom door opened and Nathalie entered the room together with Adrien's father. Marinette and Adrien gasped in surprise at the sudden company and sat up straight.

''What's the meaning of this?'' Gabriel spoke, looking around the room to see it covered in feathers.

Adrien got up from his bed. ''Just having fun, Father. A-choo!''

''And risking your health I see…''

''It's fine, Father. Nothing is wrong, I'm just sneezing a bit.''

Gabriel mumbled something under his breath and aimed is gaze towards Marinette still sitting on the bed. Adrien followed the stare and noticed what, or rather who he was staring at.

''You remember Marinette. She was the one that helped me make the cookies for your birthday.''

Marinette got up from the bed and put her hand in front of her. ''Hello, sir. It's good to see you again.''

Gabriel walked towards her and shook her hand. ''Miss Dupain-Cheng, the pleasure is all mine. I see you and my son…'' He studied her, seeing she was still covered in feathers. ''…are having a great time.''

Marinette chuckled awkwardly. ''Yes, we sure are. Sorry, about the feathers. We'll clean it up.''

''No need. I'll have it cleaned later. You two enjoy yourselves.''

''Sir, it's time for your appointment,'' Nathalie interrupted.

''Thank you, Nathalie. I'll be leaving now.''

Gabriel gave one last look at the two teens staring at each other. They had a certain look in their eyes. The same look he had when he was staring at his wife. When they both looked back at him he gave a smile before leaving the room again with Nathalie.

Adrien looked at Marinette with eyes as big as dinner plates. ''No way. He smiled at you. I think that's one of the first times I've actually seen him giving a sincere smile.''

''Well, apparently he likes me then.''

''I even have the feeling that he likes you better than me," he pouted.

Marinette walked towards him. ''Don't say that. Who couldn't like you? Look at this face.'' She squeezed his cheeks using only one hand.

''Very funny,'' Adrien said, barely able to make the words while his face was being squeezed.

oOo

When Marinette ran inside the elevator, another man was about to close it. She quickly ran inside before the doors touched.

The man looked at her with concerned eyes. ''Everything all right, miss?''

Marinette didn't look at him and just nodded, still sobbing.

''Which floor?''

''I-I don't care, sir.''

The man nodded and pressed a button, probably to his floor. The doors eventually opened on a really high floor, it was approximately two or three floors beneath the top floor. Only now Marinette remembered what Adrien said about his father, and realized that this building was also used as some business center. The ground floor was the restaurant and you could go to your meetings by just taking the stairs or elevator. Pretty smart Marinette had to admit.

She and the man both stepped out. ''Well, I hope your evening gets a lot better,'' the man said. He waved at her quickly before entering one of the offices.

''Thank you,'' Marinette whispered, but he probably didn't hear it. Even though he was probably a rich business guy, he was still really nice to her. Not all rich guys are like Gabriel Agreste, she thought.

Marinette had no clue what she was doing here. She just wanted to get away, but ended up in a place where she had no business being there. She walked around the fancy hallway seeing if there was someplace where no one would bother her. She eventually ended by the stairs. There were only a few floors above and a lot beneath her. She wondered what the roof would be like, so she took the opportunity and went up. She would probably be alone there anyway- it was a win-win.

She opened the door to the roof. It wasn't raining anymore, but she could still feel the chilly air. She closed the door and stepped towards the ledge. She looked down and felt a little bit scared. As Ladybug everything looked different. She never worried about heights or other dangers. As Marinette, she couldn't really protect herself or others. Being this high was pretty scary.

She looked up again to calm herself down. The city looked beautiful like this. The sky and roads all dark, almost black, but the stars there to make everything a bit brighter. And then there were the lights from buildings of course. Her teary eyes made her sight a bit blurry, but that only made looking at the city even more beautiful. It was all so mesmerizing and Marinette had the feeling she was looking at a painting.

She took a quick break from staring to check her phone. She had a lot of messages and missed calls from Alya and her parents, most likely about the news. She also had missed calls and messages from Adrien, probably looking for her in the gigantic building. She didn't bother to respond and put her phone away to continue staring at the beautiful sight.

She stood there for almost half an hour. Her tears had dried in the meantime. Her breath was still a bit shaky and her face red. She never moved an inch from her spot and completely forgot about the world around her. It was just her, her thoughts and the beautiful city in front of her.

She was so far gone that she never heard the door opening behind her. She never heard footsteps nearing her. She never heard the person calling her name. She never felt the breath in her neck. She never acknowledged the person behind her until he put his arms around her from behind and put his chin on her shoulder.

She gasped at the sudden touch and wanted to slap the person off of her, thinking it was some weirdo.

''It's just me,'' the voice said.

She relaxed at hearing Adrien's voice. Wait, was it? The voice sounded familiar though and who else would hold her like this? Well, Adrien didn't really hold her like this that often, since they were taking things slow. She looked down at the hands snaked around her. Tan skin and a silver ring: that's Adrien all right.

''I'm sorry,'' Marinette eventually spoke.

''You're sorry? Chloé should be sorry. She needs to know when she needs to keep her mouth shut.''

''That's not what I was talking about…''

Adrien realized what she meant. ''Oh. That.''

''I understand if you're mad-''

''I could never be mad at you.'' At least not on purpose, he thought.

Marinette had gathered enough courage to speak again. "There is also something else you should know."

Adrien shushed her, knowing where she was going with this.''I should apologize to you first. I should have never made you cry.''

Marinette was really confused at his words. Chloé made her cry, not him. She released his grip and turned around to face him. Only now she saw how red his face was from exhaustion. He probably searched every floor for her- no wonder it took him half an hour.

''I don't get what you mean,'' Marinette said. ''Chloé was the one who made me cry, not you.''

Adrien sighed and smiled. Of course she didn't know what he meant. ''Can I tell you a little secret?''

Now she was even more confused. ''…Sure…''

''You have to promise me two things though. Don't ever speak to anyone about this, and… please don't slap me.''

''Uhm… okay….'' She chuckled at the last part, not only was it a weird request but it came out of him with a squeak.

''Well, here we go then.'' He took a deep breath to think about what he wanted to say.

He felt Plagg tuck at the inside of his shirt. While Adrien was searching for Marinette, he talked to him about revealing himself. It would probably make her feel better, he argued. Plagg insisted for Adrien to keep his mouth shut, but if he really believed that this was the solution then there was nothing for Plagg to say other than to go for it.

''I know, but I wanna do this,'' Adrien mumbled to Plagg.

''What?'' Marinette asked.

''Oh, nothing. It's just… look.'' He poked Plagg to come out so he would do most of the explaining.

He felt Plagg sighing in his shirt and eventually flying in sight. He floated in front of Marinette's face. Adrien looked at her without saying anything. Her face was in total shock. Her mouth hung open and her eyes were extremely big.

''No,'' she responded.

Marinette studied the little creature in front of her. It didn't take her long to figure out this was a Kwami. What concerned her the most though was that this Kwami was black and cat-like. This meant that Adrien not only was a Kwami holder but he was-

''Chat Noir,'' she whispered after a long pause. This explains so much. It basically explains everything!

Adrien was really confused at her response. He didn't say anything yet, neither did Plagg. How could she already know who he was with just looking at the, to her unknown, tiny creature? Also, she was very calm for her doing. She didn't freak out of anything, she was just shocked.

''Mari, let me explain and-''

''No, you don't have to explain anything!'' She yelled.

Adrien flinched at her sudden change of demeanor.

This was the first time she yelled at Adrien Agreste. Well, apparently not the first time. ''Don't you know how I feel right now? I feel like a fool! You messed with my head and you knew it. I felt so guilty and bad for what happened!"

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea Adrien thought. ''Marinette, calm down, please.''

She wanted to yell a 'no' back, but sighed and did as he said. Being mad was not the right option and she didn't feel like crying again afterwards. She thought about Tikki's words. Maybe she was right, maybe she wasn't ready.

She felt so many emotions at a time. She didn't know whether to kiss or punch him, follow her heart or her brain. Her brain was telling her to freak out and be mad, but she didn't think that was a good plan. She listened to her heart instead and pulled him in an embrace.

Adrien was bewildered more than ever now. First she was shocked, then she was mad, then after calming down she hugs him? He didn't know what to do and just hugged her back.

''Marinette?'' He asked puzzled and with a chuckle.

She let go and started to blush. ''I'm sorry… I'm just a bit overwhelmed.''

''I totally get it! It's not like this is something you hear every day…''

Marinette smiled, remembering saying the exact same thing to Alya. That reminded her, if he got clean she should too.

''I hope you don't think any differently of me right now,'' he said with a hint of sadness.

''Never! Well, of course it does change my perception of you, but in a good way.''

''What's a good way?''

''Well…'' She put her hands around his neck and kissed him, quite long.

After they parted he looked at her in utter disbelief, but then grinned. ''Oh, that good way.'' He leaned in for another kiss, but Plagg had to interrupt of course.

"You kids do realize I'm still here right?"

"Way to ruin the moment, Plagg," Adrien mumbled. Marinette snickered and started to blush.

Marinette quickly glanced at Plagg and he gave her a knowing look. She sighed, knowing what she had to do.

''I hope I won't come in between you and your Lady,'' she teased, wanting to see his reaction. She looked at Plagg and he smirked at her, encouraging her to keep on messing with Adrien.

''What, you mean Ladybug? No way! She is great and all, and I might had a tiny crush on her, but that's completely over now. Besides, you're like way better.''

''Wow, if you would say that to Ladybug's face she would be devastated." The sarcasm was obvious to hear, but not to Adrien.

''That's why I won't tell her.''

''Too late,'' she giggled.

''Pardon?''

Marinette sighed and then smiled. ''Tikki, it's time.'' She opened her tiny purse and Tikki carefully came out of it.

''What.'' Adrien said, more a statement than a question. After seeing a red Kwami with black spots it wasn't that hard to connect the dots (see what I did there).

Marinette chuckled. ''Surprise…?''

There was a silence where he looked at her in awe.

His Princess and Lady were one and the same. This also explained why Marinette recognized Plagg immediately as a Kwami. Of course, he was freaking out because he didn't expect this, but he was also filled with joy. Because HIS PRINCESS AND LADY WERE ONE AND THE SAME. He did the thing he always did when he started to freak out, guess what it could be.

''Marinette Dupain-Cheng, you have got to be kitten me!''

Marinette sighed. ''Seriously, kitten? You never stop with the puns, do you?''

He grinned. ''It's what I do best, Purrrincess. Besides, you never complain on patrol. I always assumed you thought my puns were amewsing.''

She rolled her eyes and started to laugh, him following suit. After they were done they looked at each other in silence.

''We really are something, huh?'' She said.

''Tell me about it,'' he snickered. ''Look, Marinette. I really like you, Ladybug or not. And… now that this all happened… I'm thinking that maybe this was all meant to be.''

''I'm starting to think that too,'' she responded.

''Good. Then you won't mind me giving you this.'' He handed her a tiny box. ''It's my Valentine's gift, but it's not only that. Just read the note.''

She opened the box and saw a necklace. It was just a simple, tiny heart, but it was worn out. It looked like it used to be gold, but it was rusty now.

''The necklace is pretty old, it's been in the family for years. If you want you can clean it, but I thought you'd like it this way.''

She nodded in response. Her gaze lingered on the unopened note. She grabbed it and unfolded it. She looked at the back, which was the drawing he tried to make of her this afternoon, finished.

''Oh my, Adrien. This is so sweet. It actually looks pretty good. I might put in on the fridge." She joked the last part. In actuality, the drawing was like that of a six-year-old, but at least he tried.

''Yeah, yeah, it's terrible. I grabbed your sketchbook you left at the park and finished the drawing. Your book is at my place if you're looking for it. But enough talk, read the note!'' He jumped up and down like a little kid and Marinette smiled at his antics.

She turned the note around and started to read.

Sweet Marinette,

Just looking at you makes me smile. Thinking about you pauses my world for a while.

Dreaming about you gives me sleepless nights. Mari, I like you with all my heart's might.

If flirting with you makes me feel like I'm on cloud nine, I wonder how exciting life will be once I am yours and you are mine.

It might all sound cliché and I know it may seem too soon, but you're everything I want and I think I'm in love with you.

So, I wrote this poem and I'll ask you again. Will you make a dream come true and be my girlfriend?

While reading the words over and over again, Marinette's lip started to tremble and she put a hand to her mouth. This was the sweetest thing she has ever read.

''It's kind of cringy, so I'm sorry for that. But, ehm…. you get the message.''

''Adrien…'' She attacked him in a hug and a quick kiss. ''You are such a dork.''

''Is that a yes?''

''Of course, chaton. But, you already knew that. After all, I poured my heart out to you when you visited me, you brat!'' She slapped him playfully on the shoulder.

''Sorry, I couldn't help it. You're very fond of me though, I know that now.'' He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

Marinette gave him a smile before it faltered when she remembered something. ''This also explains why you were so eager to tell me back at home.''

''A bit too eager if you ask me. I'm still so sorry for saying all those things and yelling at you like that, I should have never done that.''

''Neither should I. It's all good, Adrien. Right?''

''Right.''

The two teens we're so busy with each other that they completely forgot about the presence of their Kwamis.

Tikki and Plagg looked at the scene in front of them and smiled in amusement. Seeing this unfold was beautiful. They really were made for each other. Tikki had to admit that she was wrong: they were ready, they just needed to find the right moment.

''Oh, I see you haven't put on the necklace yet.'' He pointed to the box containing said object.

She nodded and opened it, took out the necklace and handed it to him to put it on her. He complied and put the old object around her neck.

''Looks good on you,'' he commented.

She smiled. ''Where is this from anyway? You said this was in the family for long?''

''Yeah, on my mom's side. It was always passed on from mother to daughter, but after my parents had me they never had a second child that could have been a girl. I'm sure my mom would be glad that you have it instead of it collecting dust in the closet.''

''I'm honored, really. It's so pretty, Adrien.''

''Glad you like it. Let's go down, okay? It's starting to get cold up here.''

Marinette nodded in agreement and they walked to the door, hand in hand. Their Kwamis trailing behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was the end of this chapter. This chapter was really fun to write since it's all dramatic. So, a lot happened in this chapter. They got together and revealed to each other. It all looks a bit hurried, but don't worry, there is more to come. I might change the summary of this story because it's going to have more story and less just about Marinette and Adrien being a thing (don't worry, there will be enough fluff).
> 
> Ah, the poem. I die every time I read it. I kind of wrote it myself, but I had some help from the internet as well. If you like this, good, because I'm a real poet and love rhyming and stuff. I already have something else planned, but I won't spoil anything!
> 
> Also, you might be wondering why Marinette didn't get akumatized, since she got upset twice. I won't tell anything, but there is a reason. Any thoughts? Share them!
> 
> An extra also, I'm thinking about turning this into a comic when it's done. You guys think that's a good idea?
> 
> Sayonara my friends, have a great day and until next chapter!


	6. Daydreamin'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good day to you, my dear friends. It's time for the next chapter, everything post-reveal, so no flashbacks anymore.
> 
> Speaking of the flashbacks, I didn't put them in a specific order, you just need to figure out for yourselves what the right order is. A little puzzle never hurt anyone *sassy wink emoji*.
> 
> Also, it's not very explicit, but there will be a make out session. So if you're not comfortable with that, just skip it.

Valentine's Day turned out a lot better for Marinette than she at first expected. It was very confusing for the both of them, knowing their identities now. Luckily, no Akuma attack occurred anymore for the rest of the evening and the weekend after, so they had enough time to talk it out.

Marinette tried to avoid Alya all weekend, not feeling like explaining everything that happened. She would do that on Monday. It was pretty hard to avoid her parents though, so she reluctantly explained what she could. Nothing more.

She stayed locked up in her room all weekend, because there were so many news people in the area ready to question her. Adrien tried to keep a low profile too as Chat Noir. They both had to go to school on Monday though and an Akuma attack was bound to happen soon, so they couldn't hide forever. But they would deal with that later.

It was Monday morning now, school starting in about an hour. Just as expected, an Akuma was creating chaos this morning. So far for the peaceful days. Even though the Akuma was quite tough, our heroes defeated him eventually.

Chat Noir and Ladybug jumped in said girl's room through her window, avoiding the reporters around her house, and de-transformed. Marinette sat on her little sofa and Adrien on her desk chair.

"That was too close for comfort. They almost had me!" Adrien whined.

"Stop complaining, they were just reporters. The Akuma was way worse and we got him, right?"

"I know, but they won't stop questioning me about you. I even told the truth and said that it was just you helping me with the Akuma, but they don't believe me. They won't let it rest until I say that we are a thing. They don't want the truth, they just want to hear want they want to hear."

"Well, it is the truth, isn't it?" She asked with a smug grin.

"Yeah, but as far as they know it isn't!" He said exasperatedly.

"You're always so dramatic, you need to chill out," Plagg interrupted.

Marinette giggled. "I have to agree with you on that."

"Hey, he's one to talk! He needs to learn to not be so dramatic about cheese," Adrien pouted and crossed his arms.

"Oh, that reminds me," she said, totally ignoring Adrien's comment. "Plagg, I got some cheese for you in the kitchen. My dad was making cheese bread and had some leftovers. There's no Camembert, but I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself. And don't worry about my parents, they're down in the bakery."

"No way!" Plagg exclaimed. He looked at Adrien with a smile. "This one's keeper. You better put a ring on it before someone beats you to it." With that he left and flew to the kitchen.

"Plagg!" Adrien blushed slightly at Plagg's words and scratched behind his neck. Marinette blushed too, but tried to brush it off and started to talk with Tikki.

Adrien turned the chair and was facing the computer screen. He looked at the background and smiled. He remembered her old background from his visits as Chat Noir: his face was everywhere with a lot of hearts and lots of pink. Now the background was filled with pictures of them together.

It was then that Alya entered the bedroom, probably let in by Marinette's parents. She had a very determined look on her face.

"Okay, you got two seconds to explain this to me, Mar- Oh, morning Adrien…" Her loud voice faltered by seeing him.

Adrien immediately started to freak out, because Tikki was in plain sight for Alya to see. Even though they had talked it out the past days, Marinette forgot to tell the tiny detail that Alya knew as well, about her that is.

"Marinette," he whispered. He coughed and pointed with his head towards Tikki.

His movement wasn't very subtle, so Alya knew what he was referring to. This made her realize that Adrien knew about Tikki, even though Marinette told her she was the only one that knew.

"Uh, girl, now you have to explain even more." She pointed to Adrien and Tikki. "Why is he allowed to see her?"

"Wait, Alya knows? Marinette, I thought no one knew!"

"And I thought I was the only one that knew," Alya said in response.

The two looked at Marinette with questioning eyes.

Said girl chuckled awkwardly. "Well, long story short…" She aimed her gaze at Adrien. "Alya figured it out on her own and I just forgot to tell you…" Now she looked at Alya. "…and I told Adrien on Valentine's Day."

"She figured it out in her own?" Adrien asked confused.

"Yeah, because of my awesome journalist skills!" Alya huffed.

"Oh, please. You just happened to be at the right place at the right time, otherwise you would have never seen me transform. I'm always very careful," she said with a grin.

"When was this?" He asked.

Marinette started to turn red so Alya answered for her. "When that plant girl attacked. I accidentally filmed her transformation, but don't worry, I deleted it."

"You have known for that long?!"

"Of course, I'm her best friend."

"And I'm her boyfriend, if that doesn't mean something." He crossed his arms.

A smirk creeped on Alya's face. "Boyfriend, huh?"

The couple started to blush violently and looked the other way.

"O. M. G. You guys are the cutest! Chloé is going to die when she hears this."

Marinette gagged. "Who cares about Chloé..."

"I couldn't agree more," Alya said, then she sighed. "I actually don't want to do this in front of Adrien, but I need to know. If you two are together-together, then what's this?" Her face turned angry, confusing Marinette.

She showed Marinette a picture on her phone of her as Ladybug giving Chat Noir a kiss on the cheek.

"You're lucky that I'm the only one that has this picture, since I took it this morning. I, of course, knew where to follow you, unlike those news reporters."

Marinette opened her mouth to speak, but Alya shushed her with her hand.

"You've got a lot of explaining to do, considering the fact that you had that whole incident with Chat Noir last Friday. Unless..."

She looked at Adrien and Marinette, starting to piece the puzzle together.

Alya put her fingers to the bridge of her nose and sighed again. "Please tell me you're Chat Noir, Adrien. Otherwise I'm gonna smack Marinette in the face for cheating on you."

The couple glanced at each other quickly and shared a nod. They also looked at Tikki who nodded in return.

Adrien laughed and put his hands up. "Caught me red pawed."

Alya was in shock, sat next to Marinette and sighed. "Okay, now my head hurts. I'm positive it's gonna explode any second…"

"Don't you mean pawsitive?" He asked with a smirk.

Alya deadpanned, threw a pillow at him and looked at Marinette. "Seriously, this is the guy you want?"

Marinette and Tikki started to laugh while Adrien removed the pillow from his face and looked offended. "I'll tell you that Marinette loves my puns, even if she doesn't show it. I just know she secretly does."

"Suuuure," Alya retorted. "Do you really?"

Marinette looked at Adrien while answering. "Oh sure, your puns are clawsome."

They could see the twinkle in his eyes when she said that. He jumped from the chair and hugged Marinette. "You making a pun, M'Lady? You just made my day!"

Alya looked at the two interacting and smiled at the nickname her friend got. "But let me get this straight. You are Chat Noir, you are Ladybug, and you two have basically been dancing around each other without knowing who you were until three days ago?"

They both nodded.

Alya sighed for like the millionth time and gave them a pitiful smile. "You guys are the worst."

"Yup," the couple said in unison and they laughed.

"Oh, look at the time," Marinette said. "It's almost time for school and I haven't had breakfast yet."

She got up and walked downstairs, the other three in the room following her. When they entered the kitchen they saw it was all covered in cheese, Plagg sleeping on the counter with a full stomach.

Adrien sighed and massaged his temples. "So, this is Plagg, Alya. He's my Kwami."

Alya laughed at the sight and walked towards the tiny creature to poke it. He didn't wake up.

"He is adorable," she concluded.

"Adorable? More like annoying. The only thing he cares about is cheese, especially Camembert," he said, mostly because he was annoyed. He knew it wasn't entirely true.

"I can see that," she said, taking in the dirty kitchen.

"My parents are gonna kill me for this," Marinette grunted.

"Don't worry, Mari. Adrien and I will clean it up so you can eat," Alya spoke.

"Nah, it's fine. I can go without breakfast for once. Let's just clean this up before my parents come up."

"Not so fast," Adrien said with an evil grin. He gently picked up Plagg to not wake him up. The Kwami was dirty from the cheese. "Someone needs to have a bath first."

He opened the tap and let the water drip on the cat-like Kwami. He immediately woke up and looked around in confusion and annoyance.

The three teens and Tikki laughed. Plagg grumbled something under his breath and shook his head like a dog in order to get the water off him. He didn't even bother to question why Alya was allowed to be here.

"Good, you're awake," Adrien said. "Now you can help us clean the mess you made."

oOo

When the kitchen was clean the trio left for school. Marinette's parents questioned why Adrien was with them, since they didn't see him enter the house this morning. Tom asked the boy with a dark glare if he secretly stayed over last night, much to the couple's embarrassment. Alya couldn't, of course, stop teasing them about it.

When they left the house they were bombarded with microphones and cameras. They tried to ignore it and kept focusing on the road, but that's quite hard when a microphone is shoved down your throat.

Adrien got a call from Nathalie as well, asking where he was because he had to go to school. He answered that he went to school early and that she didn't have to worry about him. Even though she was always formal around him, he knew she kind of cared about his wellbeing.

When they entered the classroom, Chloé couldn't believe her eyes. Not only did she see that the couple was all fluffy around each other, but she also recognized the necklace Marinette was wearing. It was the necklace Adrien's mother used to wear. This meant she probably got that from him as a gift. This was totally the opposite of what she wanted to happen.

"I can't believe this!"

Sabrina flinched at her friend's sudden exclamation. "W-what can't you believe?"

"Those two! Adrien is too good-hearted for his own good. If I'm not mistaken, and I'm never, then those two are together! We need to think of something, fast."

"You know," Sabrina said carefully. "Maybe you should just… let it slide. You've tried so much and nothing worked so far. And they are already together now. If-"

"Ugh, I can't believe you would say that. I thought you were on my side?"

"I am! It's just-"

"You don't have to say anything. I'll do it myself. You're useless anyway…"

Sabrina sighed and went silent, knowing that arguing with Chloé wouldn't work in her advantage.

All the students took their respective seats and waited for the lesson to begin.

When about fifteen minutes had passed, Alya looked at Marinette from the corner of her eyes. The blue-haired girl was staring at the boy in front of her with her chin in the palm of her hand.

Alya rolled her eyes and nudged the daydreaming girl. "I thought we were passed this."

Marinette looked up in surprise. "No, it's not like that," she whispered back. "It's just… I just realized that so many things are different now. If you would have told me a few months ago that Chat and I would know each other's identities, that I would be with Adrien and you would know everything, then I would have laughed at you in the face."

Alya nodded in understanding. "Life can change a lot in a short amount of time."

"It's crazy, right? What's gonna happen next? Hawk Moth will reveal himself as well? Then the world would be upside down."

Alya laughed softly. "It would be easier for you guys though. Then you'll know who you're up against."

"I know…"

Alya's smile dissipated at seeing Marinette's worried look. "What?"

"I was just thinking… what if we know who this man is. It's just hard to believe that someone in your every-day-life could be so evil."

"Do you really think someone we see every day could be Hawk Moth?"

"Well, I know he's not Hawk Moth 24/7. He needs to have some sort of normal life, right? Just like us."

Alya thought about that. "Probably, yes. Maybe we can do some sort of check up on all people in the city."

"No, millions of people live in Paris, that would take forever and it's not worth our time. Just forget I said anything."

Both girls started to focus on the teacher. Marinette's gaze drifted down to Adrien again. He was leaning his head against her table, probably out of boredom. She leaned forward and started to scratch his head.

She smiled when she saw he leaned his head back even more. He must be enjoying it, he did have cat tendencies after all. She moved her hands a little lower to scratch behind his ears.

She saw a sly grin appear on his face when she did that. She wanted to move down to his neck, but retreated quickly when a weird rumbling sound erupted from him.

Did he… did he just purr?

He immediately put his hands in front of his mouth and he felt this cheeks heat up. He twisted his neck to look at Marinette.

She looked at him with big eyes while his face became redder every second. She put a hand to her mouth to stop herself from laughing.

When they looked around the class, they saw that everyone's gaze was fixed upon them. The whole class, even Miss Bustier, was staring at them.

"Dude, what the heck was that sound?" Nino asked.

"Uhm… I just… burped?"

"Adrien, that's not very proper," Miss Bustier said.

"Sorry, Miss. Won't happen again." He slumped down in his seat, his face probably not able to become even redder than it already was.

He heard the two girls behind him chuckle. He turned around to give them a sharp look. They were both red from holding their laughs, Alya pinching her arm to make herself quit and Marinette biting her lip.

After a few minutes he felt Marinette's hand reaching for his neck. He quickly grabbed it and pulled her towards him so he could whisper in her ear. "Don't even think about it."

He then let go of her and heard a muffled laugh behind him, followed by another snicker from Alya.

He had the feeling that his face was red for the rest of class. He couldn't be gladder when the bell rang.

Everyone got up and walked outside the door, Adrien, Marinette and Alya lingering behind. Miss Bustier had to leave quickly as well, so she didn't bother to check if some students stayed behind.

When everyone was gone the girls burst out into big laughter, tears streaming down their face. Tikki got out of Marinette's little bag too and gave Adrien a pitiful smile.

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up. It's funny, I know." Sarcasm was obvious to hear from his voice.

"I'm sorry, Adrien. I shouldn't be laughing but-'' Marinette couldn't even finish her sentence and started to laugh again.

"Seriously man, did you just purr? Like an actual kitty purr? That's just so cute," Alya said in between laughs.

"It's not cute! I've never had this before, it's embarrassing. Plagg, elaborate, please."

Plagg left the inside of his shirt and floated in front of his face. "You know exactly what this is about."

"No, I don't."

Plagg gave him a look. After some computing, he nodded back in understanding. "Oh, that."

Marinette stopped laughing when she saw how upset he was. She also didn't know what the shared look meant, but it was probably something between them.

"Ahw, kitty. I'm sorry. Come here." Marinette tried to embrace him, but he knew the real reason why she wanted to do that.

He stepped backwards. "Marinette, no."

She stepped towards him with a smirk. "Marinette, yes."

He did multiple steps backwards, her following his tempo. Eventually he ran out of the classroom, Marinette following him with a laugh.

They left Alya and their Kwamis alone in the classroom. Alya shook her head. "Those two…"

She looked at the tiny creatures. "Well, I suppose it's just us then. I've got some cookies with me. And I think I have some cheese on my bread as well. Hop in."

She opened her bag for the Kwamis to hide in and walked down the stairs for lunch. She joined Nino at his table.

"Can you tell me why Marinette and Adrien just ran by like little kids?" Nino asked with a laugh.

She opened a juice box and shook her head. "Don't ask."

Marinette had slowed down her pace and was walking through the empty hallways now. She was sure she saw Adrien going this way.

"Adrien?"

No answer. There was silence, except for the soft mumbling of the people eating downstairs. She knew he was fast, but so fast he could suddenly disappear from an entire hallway?

"Adrien, this isn't funny. You're freaking me out."

Still no answer. Maybe something was wrong? Did he hurt himself or was he just messing with her?

"AdrIEN?!"

Her soft whisper turned into a yelp when she felt someone grab her and push against the wall.

When she saw it was Adrien who was staring at her, she started to blush. "A-Adr-"

She was halted when he planted a kiss on her lips. What had gotten into him? It wasn't like she didn't enjoy it, she was just very confused. This wasn't like him. She felt his hands lower to her hips and she pressed hers against his chest.

A random make out session in the middle of a deserted hallway. Why not?

She eventually pushed him away so she could breathe. "What's the matter with you?"

"Nothing," he said with a husky voice.

He looked at her with a weird look in his eyes. A look he mostly had as Chat Noir. It was playful and daring. He leaned in for another kiss, only now he kissed her neck.

Marinette gasped slightly at the sudden action, but didn't ask him to stop. Even though she was really surprised at his sudden change of demeanor, she kind of liked. She moved her hands from his chest to the back of his head and started to mess with his hair.

She could get used to this.

Then it happened. He started to purr again. She had heard the sound pretty loudly in the classroom, but now it was right next to her ear. She had to admit she really liked hearing it.

She deepened another kiss to show him she didn't mind what he was doing. His hands went from her hips to her back and he pulled her closer.

In between the purring she tried to listen if somebody was coming, but she didn't hear anything. It was complete silence. Then she realized that that was odd. She pushed him away again and she heard him whimper.

"Do you hear that?"

He shook his head to come back to reality and closed his eyes to focus his hearing. "Nope."

"Exactly. Nobody is making a sound, not even the people downstairs. That can't be good."

She walked to the stairs, dragging him along by his wrist.

"Oh no."

They ran down the stairs as fast as they could. Everyone was scattered either on the floor or on the tables.

Both Marinette and Adrien checked up on multiple people to see if they would wake up and if they had a pulse. Luckily, they still had. They weren't harmed, they were just passed out. Like they were asleep.

"Do you think an Akuma did this?"

"I-I don't know. I suppose. But another Akuma so quickly after the one we defeated this morning?" Adrien answered.

"Look, there are Rose and Alix." Marinette pointed to the girls sleeping on a table.

"And there is Nathaniel."

"But… where are Alya and Nino?"

They both looked around for the pair, but didn't seem to find them.

"Adrien, look! Alya's bag."

The bag was on top of one of the tables.

"At least we know she was here. Maybe she fled with Nino to someplace safe and left her bag in the hurry."

"Yeah, probably," she answered absentmindedly. She opened the bag and gasped at its content. "Tikki."

"Asleep." He sighed. "That means you can't transform if necessary…"

"But how am I supposed to do anything then? If it's an Akuma I can't purify it!" She grabbed his shirt in frustration.

"Don't worry, Mari. We'll fix this. Plagg is still somewhere around here, probably. We're not sure yet if it's an Akuma. Let's just walk around to see if there are more people asleep. Maybe it'll show us a pattern and we'll find the Akuma, if it's one in the first place."

"Why are you so calm!? You don't know where Plagg is! You can't transform!"

"I know that. And I'll have to deal with it. It's better to try and do something instead of freaking out."

"But-but-"

He cupped her face. "Marinette, we can do this. By ourselves."

She calmed down and nodded. She grabbed Alya's bag, consisting of Tikki, and hung it on her shoulder.

They strolled to other hallways in silence.

"So… what was that all about?"

Adrien looked at her in confusion. "Huh?"

"Upstairs?"

"Oh, that." He scraped his throat. "Just, eh, in the mood."

"Why is that hard to believe for me?" She asked with a smirk.

"Okay, okay. I just don't want to talk about it now."

She got quite concerned. She was sure it had to do with the purring. "All right then. Everything okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. We'll talk about it later," he said just a bit too quick to be genuine. He also sounded irritated.

She mumbled a soft okay and they ended up in silence again.

"Oh my gosh, look!" Adrien pointed towards a classroom, their classroom. "There are the others, awake."

They knocked on the locked door so they could get in. Alya was the one to open it.

The classroom consisted of Alya, Nino, Chloé, Sabrina, Kim and Max.

"Marinette, Adrien. Come in, quickly." She closed and locked the door again.

"What happened?" Marinette asked.

"You didn't notice?" Nino answered. "Out of nowhere smoke was coming in the room. We all fled as fast as we could. We couldn't save everyone's butt though."

"And the smoke made the people fall asleep?" Marinette questioned.

"Yeah, girl. How could you not have noticed? There was a lot of commotion," Alya said.

"We were… busy."

"Busy doing what?" Kim joined.

"Nothing important," Adrien responded hastily.

"Oh please," Chloé called. "Adri-honey, I can see Marinette's ugly lip-gloss on you from a mile away."

Adrien quickly wiped his lips and Marinette grumbled at her insult.

"Anyway," Max spoke. "We don't know what's happening. The only thing we know is that smoke made people fall asleep, so we hid in the classroom."

"Yes, and the school is closed off. There is no way out and no service as well," Alya pouted.

"It's probably one of those evil butterfly thingies," Kim said with a bit of fear.

"Don't be a wuss, I'm sure Ladybug and Chat Noir will do their job," Chloé said confidently while she let Sabrina do her nails.

Alya noticed Marinette flinch at that. She closed her eyes into slits and walked towards them. "Marinette, Adrien. A word."

When they were a bit secluded in a corner of the classroom, Alya spoke. "Something wrong?"

Marinette sighed and gave Alya her bag back. "Thank you for bringing Tikki with you, really. It's only…"

Alya looked in her bag and saw Tikki sleeping soundly. "Oh no. Does that mean you can't-"

Marinette shook her head and Adrien put a hand on her shoulder.

"Okay, that's gonna be a problem. But wait, where is mister cheese addict? He was in there too."

"He could be anywhere, he has the tendency of going on 'adventures' in the school during classes," Adrien answered while rolling his eyes.

"Well, let's start searching then. We maybe don't have Ladybug, but we'll have Chat Noir."

"True, but Marinette is the only who can purify the Akuma, if it's one. I can catch it, but what's the plan then?"

"I don't like the sound of it," Marinette said. "But I think we have to figure that out while we roll."

"I suppose we have no choice," Adrien concluded.

Alya stared at him in silence with a smirk.

"What?"

"Nothing. I just still can't believe you're Chat Noir. And Marinette being Ladybug? I just wanna say that you two are ultimate couple goals."

Adrien rolled his eyes, but still smiled. "I'll go look for the Akuma, you guys stay here."

The group broke apart again. Alya and Adrien walked to the door and Alya opened it for him. He was about the leave the classroom, hopefully without anyone noticing him, but Nino saw them.

"Where are you going, dude?" Nino asked.

"I left something in my… locker. I'm just gonna get it quickly. Be back in a jiffy."

"I don't think that's a good idea, Adrien. We don't know what's out there, it could be dangerous," Max advised.

"I'll be fine."

"Be careful," Marinette spoke with concern.

She could practically hear Chloé roll her eyes to the back of her head.

"I will." He walked out the door and Alya locked it from the inside. If he wanted to return then he could just knock.

"Where could he be?" He said to himself while strolling through the school. "Plagg?"

Nothing. It didn't surprise him though, the school is pretty big and Plagg is pretty small. He could be in places where Adrien couldn't even get at all. This was going to be a long search.

"Now where could he be? Maybe I can grab some cheese to lure him."

That reminded him. Cheese. Adrien smirked to himself. He knew exactly where Plagg was.

He ran to the locker section and opened his own. As expected, Plagg was munching on a piece of cheese in it.

"Of course this where you're hiding. You're the only one that knows I got a cheese stash for you in here. Well, except for Marinette."

Plagg looked at him lazily. "What? Can't a guy enjoy his cheese in peace?"

"Don't you ever get sick of that stuff?"

"That is an insult to me, all cheese eaters around the world and cheese in general!"

"And I'm the drama queen?"

Plagg ignored him and started to eat his cheese again. "So, what made you think you can bother me?"

"We think an Akuma is in the school. It has locked everything down and made people fall asleep. Didn't you notice anything while you were in Alya's bag?"

"Nah, I left glasses-girl almost immediately. She had some cheese on her sandwich, but it wasn't as good as the one you always have. Yours is way smellier."

"I'm not sure if I'm supposed to take that as compliment."

"From me? You should. Now, did you come here to only talk to me or what?"

"Right. Plagg, claws out!"

oOo

"Are you guys sure it's right to just sit here and wait?" Kim asked to the group. "Like, I'm not a fan of those evil butterfly-guys either, but we can at least try to get out of here."

"We already tried that, to no avail. For some reason all the doors and windows leading outside are locked. This thing doesn't want us to leave," Alya responded.

"But does it want to harm us?" Marinette asked absentmindedly. She was stroking Tikki on the inside of Alya's bag.

"What do you mean? Those things always want to hurt people," Nino said.

"I know, but do you really think that hiding in a classroom will protect you? If it's an Akuma, then it knows we're here. It's probably looking at us right now. If it wants to harm us, it would have done that already."

The comment made everyone shudder and look around in fright.

''Or it just doesn't know we're here. Yet,'' Max said back.

"Well, either way, there is no point in waiting here. Alya, give me the key." Kim walked to Alya, putting out his hand.

"No, Kim. You're not going out there alone." She pushed the key to her chest so he couldn't reach.

"Then maybe we should go together," Sabrina offered.

Everyone looked at her.

"I mean, there is always the case that we will fall asleep because of the smoke, but we're always safer together."

Chloé gasped at her friend and pulled away the hand she was busy with. "We're not leaving this room until Adrien comes back."

"Well, logically speaking, we'll see him sooner if we go outside, since he's at the lockers," Max said.

"But what if he comes back and then we're not here?" She argued again.

"He told us he'll be fine. It's not like he can't take care of himself," Nino commented with an eye roll.

"Exactly, let's go then," Marinette spoke while she stood up from where she was sitting.

"Geez, I thought out of all people you were the one who should be worried about him," Chloé said with an evil smile.

Marinette smiled back at her snarky remark. "Of course I am. And I know you are too. But maybe he is hurt. Whining in pain. Calling out your name in agony. We can find him if we leave." She talked extra dramatically.

Chloé's eyes widened and Marinette saw the girl actually considering that. She eventually got up from her place with a determined look.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Open the door!"

Marinette mentally laughed at how easy Chloé was to manipulate sometimes. Especially when it was about Adrien.

Alya reluctantly opened the door and the group left the classroom. Alya was carrying her bag, still having Tikki inside it. They wanted to put her in Marinette's bag, but couldn't since they were afraid someone might see it.

People were still asleep throughout the school. There was no sound except for their footsteps. It was like it came straight out of a horror movie.

Marinette noticed a shadow above her and turned around slowly to see what it was. When see saw two green orbs looking down on her she smiled. She elbowed Alya in her side and pointed upwards.

Alya followed the direction she was pointing to and saw the black cat hanging above them.

"Look what the cat dragged in," Alya commented.

The rest of the group turned around to see what she was talking about and were shocked by seeing Chat Noir jumping behind them.

"Himself," Chat responded with a wink and finger guns.

Marinette and Alya shot each other a look and rolled their eyes.

"Ladies." He bowed and gave them both a kiss on their hands. He purposefully took a bit longer with Marinette and squeezed her hand as well.

This gesture never did anything to Marinette, but now that she knew it was Adrien who kissed her hand, she had to blush.

When he got up, he saw she was blushing. He gave her a victorious smirk.

"Finally," Chloé sighed. "Took you long enough. Where is Ladybug?

Marinette swallowed.

"Not available," he simply said. He walked past them and deeper in the hallway with his hands behind his head. The group shrugged and followed him.

"How did you even get in here?" Max asked.

"Yeah, wasn't it all closed off?" Kim finished.

He didn't know how to answer that without letting them know he was already in the school. And that would raise suspicion.

"Ehm, well, you see-"

"And where is Adrien?!" Chloé said while she jumped in front of him and poked his chest.

He put his hands up. "I don't know, didn't see him." He sighed soflty and was glad that Chloé's outburst saved him from answering the other questions.

"So, where are we going?" Sabrina asked.

"I'm going to look for the Akuma. I don't know about you guys. You don't have to follow me, but it's probably saver to stay with me."

The group nodded at that and kept following to wherever he was going.

Chat Noir was leading with Marinette and Alya walking next to him. Alya had already grabbed her phone to film this for the Ladyblog, she got permission. Chloé and Sabrina walked behind them, not wanting to trail behind and maybe be captured. Kim and Max were the last in the row.

"Did you see the Akuma?" Marinette asked.

"No. It's silent, too silent. I'm actually pretty sure an Akuma did this, but it doesn't show itself. It's actually kinda creeping me out, I don't know what I'm up against," Chat said back.

"Did you try to unlock the doors and windows?" Alya asked as well.

"I did, but they're still stuck. Like they're welded. There's no way out unless I find the Akuma."

He could feel everyone tense up behind him.

"But don't you worry, Chat Noir is on the case." He flexed arms.

Marinette chuckled lightly.

Ever since she knew Chat Noir was Adrien, which was not that long, she acted differently around him. She always thought that the way Chat acted was just how he was, but now she knew it was all a charade, sort of. It was still Adrien all right, but he was more relaxed and he let loose. It was funny to see that this was another part of Adrien, even though she apparently knew this part of him for ages.

She also had the feeling that the whole group, except for Alya, was staring at them. She was comfortable with talking to Chat and she even giggled. With all the rumors spread about them, that could bring a lot of ideas in their minds. She didn't care what the others would think about her, but that didn't mean that their judgemental glares weren't annoying. She could practically feel their eyes burning holes in her back.

"The school's so creepy like this. I want to go home. If my father hears about this…"

Everyone, even Sabrina, just zoned out Chloé's complaining. No one felt like listening to her whining.

A loud thud got everyone's attention. It was at the other end of the hallway, just around the corner. Chat Noir quickened his pace and the others followed him.

When everyone was safe behind the corner, Chat peaked to see what or who made the thud. He wasn't surprised to see a woman dressed in dark blue. Her outfit had a pattern of moons and stars. He recognized her face, it was one of the teachers at school, but he couldn't remember her name.

''That's an Akuma for sure,'' he said. He studied her to find the object that would contain the Akuma, but he couldn't.

The woman looked around and noticed him peaking. A smirk creeped on her face.

''Uh-oh.'' He hid his head behind the corner again. ''This might be a good time to run.''

The group listened to him and started to run, not even caring to know what they were running away from.

''In here,'' Max said and everyone followed him to the door he was pointing at. It led to the locker room.

They entered and closed the door.

''Hiding again? Aren't we supposed to do something?'' Marinette asked grumpily.

''And risk being all sleepified? No way!'' Chloé said defiantly. It took her a while to realize that they were in the locker room. ''Wait, we're in the locker room, right? Where the heck is Adrien?"

Chat Noir's eyes widened, but he calmed himself down quickly. ''Ehm, he was probably roaming somewhere here. I bet the villain caught him and he's all sleepy now. Too bad, nothing we can do about that now.'' He shrugged.

''I knew this would happen. If everyone would have just listened to me!'' Chloé crossed her arms.

''It's fine, everything will be okay as soon as I capture the Akuma. You guys stay here.''

With that he left and put something in front of the door so it wouldn't open up easily.

Marinette sighed, not liking to sit down and do nothing. But there wasn't anything she could do. If Adrien needed her help he would call her as a last resort. They only needed to figure out something for the Akuma. He could capture it, but only she could purify it.

Everyone sat down together and chatted to pass the time. Chloé was still upset and was sitting on her own. Marinette noticed the look on her face.

Do I like to torture myself? She thought when she got up and sat down next to the blonde haired diva.

Chloé gave her a confused look, but looked the other way again.

Marinette sighed, still questioning why she was doing this. "Can I ask you something?"

Chloé looked at her again and raised a brow. "...Sure."

"How did you and Adrien become friends?"

She did not expect that question. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because I know that you guys go way back. He talks about you a lot, you know?"

Her eyes widened in surprise. "He does?"

"Yeah. You've been his friend for a long time and he cares about you a lot. He always talks about the things you used to do. He was always glad when you stopped by so he could get out of the house. He especially misses the shopping trips with you and his mom. He would like to do that again sometime. "

"Well, I never asked him to shop again because I thought it would remind him of his mother. He always gets so down when someone mentions her."

"Yeah, I'm always careful with that subject as well."

They fell into silence again.

"What I'm trying to say," Marinette started again, "is that I know you don't like me. But we both care about Adrien and we both like spending time with him. The least we could do is to try to get along." She put out her hand for her to shake. "So, truce?"

After thinking for a while, Chloé shook it. "All right then. I'll try. But only because the dork likes you."

"He is a dork, isn't he?"

Both girls laughed.

Marinette dared to give Chloé a shoulder nudge. "Look at us now, huh? But in all seriousness, how did you guys become friends?"

Chloé smiled. "It was one of Mr. Agreste's first, big fashion shows. He and my father had to make all sorts of arrangements about the venue. My father couldn't pay attention to me of course, so he asked Gabriel to bring his son to spend time with me. We got along and been friends ever since."

"Do you miss spending time with him? Since you guys haven't been hanging out that much anymore."

"Well, when you get older you always get different interests. And right now he has multiple friends he likes to hang out with, I have no control over that. But sometimes I do miss getting his full attention." Chloé looked a bit sad.

"You can just tell him that, you know?" Marinette said sincerely.

"As if! Then he's probably gonna complain that I'm clingy or something."

"Only way to find out is to actually tell him."

Chloé rolled her eyes, but secretly smiled at Marinette.

Both girls got up and joined the others. Alya nudged Marinette and whispered. "What's with you getting all buddy-buddy with miss perfect?"

Marinette gazed at Chloé and smiled, unbeknownst to her. "Just trying to be nice."

After some rumbling and cursing, probably because he couldn't get the door to open, Chat Noir entered the room with a closed jar. It contained the Akuma.

"Look what I got here." He held the jar up triumphantly. "Told ya I would capture it."

"Good job," Alya called out. She opened her phone camera again. "Anything you want to say for the Ladyblog?"

"Well, I know people were wondering where Ladybug was. And I just want to tell everyone that they can trust me too. We're an unstoppable team, but we can handle it on our own if we have to. I'll just bring the Akuma to her later to purify it."

"You heard it folks, everything will be fine. Even when they're on their own. Any last words, kitty?" She asked with a smirk.

He smirked back at her teasing. "Only that every one can calm down. The people are waking up and everyone is unharmed."

His ring beeped.

"I'd like to stay, but I need to bring this Akuma to M'Lady. See ya."

He jumped away and left the school grounds. He probably de-transformed behind the school, Marinette assumed.

Alya quickly checked her bag and saw that Tikki was awake again, still yawning and rubbing the sleep out or her eyes.

The doors and windows were unlocked again, everyone could leave. Marinette walked outside the school with Alya and Nino and the others a little more behind. The first person they saw was Adrien. He walked towards them.

"Hey guys, you all right?" He fist-bumped Nino and and side-hugged Alya.

"Yeah, are you okay?" Marinette asked while giving a kiss on the cheek. She glanced down at his bag and noticed something round. Obviously that was the jar with the Akuma.

They heard Alya silently squeal and looked at her in confusion.

"I'm sorry, I can't help myself. You guys are just too adorable together. You should totally get a ship name."

They both rolled their eyes.

"I'm fine, really," Adrien answered, trying to ignore Alya.

"Well, let's celebrate that we're all alive then. Are we gonna grab something to drink at a café or something?" Nino offered.

"Sure, maybe we can go to-"

"Adrien!"

Chloé walked to the group and pounced him on the shoulder.

"Ouch!"

"Serves you right. You shouldn't run off like that, you made me worried."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Chlo. I didn't mean to."

"Well, you did it anyway. So you have to make it up to me. Let's say we go shopping this afternoon. It's been a while since we done that."

Marinette smiled and winked at Chloé without the others noticing it. When she looked at Adrien she saw his eyes light up at the offer.

"Gee, I'd love to, but I kinda made plans with-"

"No, no. It's fine. You go with her," Marinette said hastily and pushed him in Chloé's arms. "We'll find a way to enjoy ourselves. You two go and have fun."

"Ehm, okay then," he said while scratching his head.

Chloé hooked her arm around his and pulled him with her. "Let's go then. Bye, Marinette!"

They quickly waved and walked to the other side of the street.

Marinette smiled at the sight and had to laugh when she saw Alya and Nino's bemused expressions.

"Okay, not only were you okay with Chloé stealing Adrien," Alya said.

"But she also actually said goodbye to you," Nino finished.

"What are we living in, an upside down world?"

Marinette chuckled at Alya's comment. "Not upside down, but maybe a little tilted. Some things can change if you give it a try."

"And by that you mean…?"

"That I'm sick of my eternal battle with Chloé, especially considering Adrien. He's not some sort of object we have to share, so we better get along if we both want to spend time with him. Period."

"A truce with the devil, huh? I like your style," Nino spoke.

Marinette shook her head. "Were we still going to the café or what?"

"Actually, can't we just go to your place? I don't feel like dealing with long lines right now. And your dad's macaroons are divine." Alya drooled.

"Sure," Marinette answered. "As long as there are no reporters ready to put a camera in my face."

"I'll take care of them," Alya said with an evil grin.

"Ladies first," Nino said and he put out his arm.

Alya and Marinette took the lead and strolled to the latter's house with Nino following them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter was a bit of a filler. I did put a bit of plot in it as to not make it a completely useless chapter.
> 
> I also just wanted to say that this is my story, so this story will go in the direction I want it to go, but I always like to read your reviews or messages. I think almost every chapter I say 'If you have thoughts or ideas, share them!' I say that because I actually mean it. I write this story so you guys can read it. I want you to enjoy the story. So again, if you have a really good idea, please share it, 'cause it really helps me!
> 
> Lots of love and have a miraculous day.


	7. Kindly Calm Me Down

He looked at the jar and tapped it. The Akuma looked really beautiful in the moonlight, Adrien had to admit. Why such a pretty, tiny, innocent creature was used to create such chaos was an enigma to him.

He really liked spending the day with Chloé. Even though she wasn't always that nice to others, she was his friend and when she was with him she was delightful to be around. Joking, laughing, bringing up memories. It was great. It has been a while since they done that, and he couldn't wait to do it again sometime.

It wasn't even the shopping itself, he never really cared about that, it was just the fact that he was outside. With a friend. Having fun. How he missed those days when his mother was still there too.

He was very anxious about the Akuma though. He kept the jar in his bag the whole day. He texted Marinette, but she replied that he shouldn't be worried and that if he just kept the jar closed and in his bag until she would come to retrieve it, everything would be fine.

He was still fixated on the bug inside the glass. Plagg was eating cheese, what else is new, on his desk and Adrien didn't really acknowledge him.

A tap on the window got him out of his daze. A red figure was in front of his window. He opened it up with a smile.

"Evening, Princess." He grabbed her hand and helped her inside.

"Hey," she spoke as she landed on her feet. "How was your day with Chloé?"

He started to bounce in excitement. "I didn't really buy that much, Chloé did. It was awesome. We went to this new place to eat, and the food was-" He pinched his fingers together and kissed the tips. – "Oh, and I bought you something too."

He went for the shopping bag that was next to his bed.

"Adrien, you shouldn't have. This was supposed to be your day, I shouldn't even have crossed your mind."

"You always cross my mind," he said with a smirk while grabbing something from the bag. "Close your eyes."

She complied and closed her eyes with her arms limp to her sides. She heard him walk towards her and then felt his lips on hers. She didn't really react to it, she kissed him back but kept her arms beside her and her eyes closed.

She smiled into the kiss. "This is what you got me?"

"No, but I couldn't resist. Now put your hands in front of you."

She did as she was told to again and put out her hands, her eyes still closed.

Something was being put in her palms, it was not that heavy but still had some weight. It was rectangled, partly hard, like metal, and partly glass. A frame?

"Can I open my eyes?"

"Only if you guess what it is. It's not that hard."

She could hear the smile on his face as he spoke. "A frame, I think."

"Good. And what's in the frame?"

"A picture," she answered monotonously.

"Right, but what's on the picture?" He was having way too much fun with this.

"How the heck am I supposed to know? You can't really feel the picture." She acted annoyed, but he could hear it wasn't real.

"Okay, okay. Just open your eyes then."

She opened them and looked at the frame in her hands. Adrien only had one light on in his room, because it was late and he was supposed to be asleep. That made looking at the picture harder, but she could make out what it showed.

"This is my favorite picture of us. Believe it or not, but Chloé chose the frame. It matches with the colors in your room. It's really cheesy, I know, but I wanted to give you a thoughtful gift and this picture means a lot to me."

She was staring at it with a big smile. It was a picture of them in the park. It wasn't taken on a special day nor did they do something odd on it. It was just the two of them smiling. It was a basic, regular picture, but it meant a lot to Adrien and that was enough to make the picture special.

"Cheesy is good. I love it."

"Good."

"But why did you want to give me a gift in the first place? I told you I didn't want to be spoiled by you just because you have the money."

"You know I'm never one to flash the money and fame I have, but you're a different story. I just wanted to thank you for setting up the trip with Chloé, or at least give her the idea of offering it."

Ladybug flushed. "Oh, she told you."

"Yeah, she told me about the little talk you guys had. At first I was skeptical about if she actually wanted to be nice to you, but she seemed genuine while talking about it. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt."

"I was just so done with everything. I don't understand why we can't be nice to each other. Today it was so easy!"

"Well, at least you made a start now. Maybe one day you'll become friends." He stepped closer, grabbed the frame from her hands and put it on his bedside table. He came back to put his hands on her waist.

She draped hers on his neck. "Maybe. You know, I haven't quite thanked you yet."

"Then maybe you should do that."

She kissed him and pushed him closer by his head. With what had happened at school in the back of her mind, she wanted to get that feeling back. Adrien was always careful with how far they were going, mostly for Marinette's sake, even after they confessed everything to each other. After giving her a taste of what he could do with her today, she wanted to return the favor.

This also reminded her that Adrien never explained why he got so upset about the purring, or at least she thought it was the purring. She would ask him, but right now she didn't want to ruin the mood.

She leaned more into him, which caused him to lose his balance. He fell backwards onto his bed and pulled her with him.

She was on top of him and giggled, but didn't stop kissing him.

"Shh," he whispered. "Don't want my father to hear us."

"Sorry," she whispered back. His mouth was still open from talking, so she took that as an opportunity to deepen the kiss.

He did not mind at all what she was doing. Whatever the reason was why she was so… intense all of a sudden, he didn't care. He was just going to let himself get sucked into the moment. That she was still wearing her skintight suit wasn't a problem either.

She moved down to his neck, just like he did this morning. To see what he thought of it.

When he felt her soft lips on his neck, he made a delighted sound and whispered her name. He put his head up to give her more access. He wanted to move his hands to her lower back, but she grabbed them and pushed them down on the bed. Dang.

After making out some more, he started to purr again. He hated it and wanted it to stop, but he had no control over it. Ladybug didn't seem to mind though, actually it looked like she enjoyed it. He felt her smile when she kissed him once more. He pushed her up slightly so he could speak.

"Y-you like the p-purring?"

At first she gave him a questioning look, but it turned into a smile and she nodded.

"Oh."

"Why you ask?"

"It's just…"

She could sense he was getting a bit uncomfortable again. She got off of him and sat next to him on her knees. He sat up straight.

He was fidgeting with his hands. She didn't understand why he felt so embarrassed about the purring.

"It's not embarrassing, if that's what you think," she tried to soothe.

Adrien took a deep breath. He didn't know how to phrase this. He didn't know if he should tell her at all. ''It's nothing.''

''It's not nothing if it upsets you.''

He sighed, but still kept silent.

She tried again. ''If you don't want to talk about it, fine, but I just want you to know that you can talk to me about anything.''

''I know,'' was his reply.

Once again silence. And not the pleasant one. It was tense and awkward.

''I'm sorry,'' he said. ''For this morning.''

''Don't be-''

''Let me finish. I know you don't mind, but I still feel like a jerk. I never intended to do that, but it just happened. I should have asked first.''

''If I was mad at you for it, I would have gone all Ladybug on your butt already,'' she joked. ''Not be on top of you.''

He laughed with her. ''True. Doesn't take away the feeling of guilt though.''

"It's fine," she said and started to lean forward. She wanted to let him know she really didn't mind. And frankly, they weren't quite finished yet in her opinion.

He saw what she was doing and reluctantly moved his head away so she couldn't reach him. "As much as I love having you all over me, didn't you come here to do your job?"

She scratched the back of her neck. "Yeah, sorry. Where is it?"

"On my desk," he said while getting up and grabbing the jar. "Ready?"

She got up as well and swung her yoyo once. "Ready."

He opened said jar and the dark butterfly was immediately heading for the open window. Ladybug quickly snatched it before it could leave. She pressed her yoyo and a beautiful, white butterfly left it and flew into the night.

"And done," she said triumphantly. "You know, you never told me what the Akuma was. I'm curious."

"Nothing special. It was one of the teachers and she called herself Sleepwalker. She was sick of her students constantly falling asleep in class. Even though she could make people fall asleep, it wasn't that hard to defeat her."

"Where was the Akuma?"

"In a bracelet she was wearing. Snatched it right in front of her face." He smiled victoriously.

"So, she was more scary than actually malicious? We could have helped you. I could have helped you."

"Yes, but I didn't know that at first. I know you don't like sitting on the sidelines, but it's better to be safe than sorry."

She mumbled something under her breath, but didn't argue with him anymore since she knew he was right. She looked at the clock in his room. She quickly grabbed the frame from his night stand and headed for the window.

He watched her walking to the window. Don't do it. Just let her go. Don't. Do. It.

"Are you leaving already?"

Idiot.

She turned around. "It's pretty late."

"Yeah, of course. You should probably go home before your parents notice you're gone."

She noticed the tone in his voice. "Do you want me to stay?"

Tell her to leave. It's for the best and you know it.

"I don't want my father to hear us, and it's late, so I should go to bed anyway. Don't want to be all tired in the morning." He tried to avoid the question.

"That's not an answer."

He kept looking at her in silence.

"Do you want me to stay?"

Without hesitation. "Yes."

No! Coward! You're weak!

She walked to him with a seductive smile and wanted to drape her arms around him again.

And he wanted to do the same. He wanted to hold her. And kiss her. And never let her go. He felt that weird feeling he had this morning boil up inside him again. That's something he didn't want.

"B-but you should head home, don't you? Even though I want you to stay, it's probably not the best idea."

She was confused at his sudden avoidance, but didn't want to push him. Something was up with him after today. She was going to brood about it later. "You're right. I need to go home."

She gave him a goodbye kiss and leaped out of the window.

He watched her disappear behind the buildings and sighed. He hated himself for his behavior, but knew he did the right thing.

''You're one strange and complicated kid.''

He forgot about Plagg. He didn't turn around to face him. ''Shut it, Plagg. It's partly your fault too.''

''Oh yeah, put the blame on me. Like I'm the one who should control himself.''

''I can control myself! Just not… all the time. And that's because of you, and you know it!''

"I can't help it that you guys are gross."

Adrien finally turned around to Plagg on his desk. "Huh?"

"All that flirting and hugging, touching and… kissing. Bleh!" He gagged. ''No wonder you get all messed up.''

"Well, I'm sorry that we made you feel uncomfortable. Next time we will stay a few feet away from each other." He rolled his eyes.

"Hey, don't go all sassy on me, I'm just saying. Maybe then you wouldn't have the problem you're having right now."

"You're telling me that no Chat Noir ever had a girlfriend or boyfriend, someone they kissed?"

"They did, most of them at least. But that never meant they went nuts when they were busy,'' he grumbled. ''Also, I really don't care what you guys do, just don't do it when I'm near.''

"You're such a baby. I need to tolerate you and your disgusting cheese habits. The least you can do is tolerate my girlfriend."

"Oh, I tolerate you and everything you do a lot, you know?"

"What are you saying, that I'm so annoying that you can barely tolerate me?"

"On the contrary, I like you. You're not boring. You're one of the best Chat Noirs I've had for a long time."

Adrien's eyes grew wide. "…One of the best?" His face turned mischievous.

Plagg flew up to be in front of his face. "Don't get any ideas. Just because I like you doesn't mean you can do whatever you want."

"I never said that."

"I can see it in your eyes."

"Then you misinterpreted them."

"So, what does this look mean then, huh?" He pointed to his face.

Adrien came closer so his nose almost touched the Kwami. He grinned. "I love you too."

Plagg gagged again and dropped down onto Adrien's shoulder like he was dying. "Ugh. Stop saying those things. You're starting to make me like you less."

Adrien laughed and petted his belly. Plagg secretly smiled in satisfaction.

oOo

"So, how about Madrien?"

"Alya, stop."

"Or-or maybe Adrimari? Hm… Madri?"

Marinette rolled her eyes. "Don't you have something more important to do?"

"Oh, but this is important. If I ever talk about you guys I won't be saying Adrien and Marinette, I'll be talking about… MARIEN! Nah…"

Marinette facepalmed. "Please don't continue this when we're at Adrien's. His father is just starting to like me, I don't need you and your nicknames-"

"Ship names," Alya corrected.

"-ship names ruining that for me."

"Chillax, I got it. You want to make a good impression on the dad. No prob."

"Thank you." She said and stopped in front of the big mansion. She pressed the button underneath the panel.

They would visit Adrien today, because he had a day off. That didn't happen that often. Nino would join later, since he had something with his family that he needed to do first. They would hang out at Adrien's place and grab a movie later.

They rang a few times, but no one answered. After ringing one more time, Adrien's voice was heard.

He saw Marinette's face in the camera. "Hey, Princess."

Marinette ignored Alya's 'Omg, so cute'. "Hi. Can you let us in?"

"Sure. Sorry you had to wait, I had to come from upstairs and Nathalie is with my father in his office."

"It's okay," both said in unison.

The gates opened. Alya and Marinette entered the big garden and when they neared the front of the house, Adrien was standing in the doorway.

"Man, I can never get over the fact how big your house is. It's huge!" Alya exclaimed.

"If you already like the house itself you should see his room," Marinette said.

Adrien closed the door behind them. "Oh yeah, that's right. Alya has never been in my room before."

"Yeah, what's with that? Nino and Marinette have been in your room. I actually feel quite offended," she said with a smirk.

"You know I don't get to have that many visitors…"

Alya punched his shoulder. "I was kidding. Lighten up."

"We were just lucky to have had the chance to visit him," Marinette said and grabbed his arm to comfort him.

Adrien looked to the ground. "If that's what you call lucky. I always try to get away as much as I can."

"Oh, so that's why you always knock on my window in the middle of the night," Marinette said teasingly.

Adrien started to turn red and Alya raised a brow.

"He visits you at night?"

"Let's go up!" Adrien said quickly and ran up the stairs, the other two following him with a laugh.

When he opened his bedroom door, Alya couldn't stop the gasp escaping her mouth.

"Oh my…" Alya was tongue tied.

"It's big, I know. And way too much stuff. It's not that I'm ungrateful, it's just-"

"Amazing!" Alya finished herself.

"Or you can call it that." Adrien shrugged and chuckled.

Alya checked out the whole room and looked at everything in adoration. She was asking a lot of questions about the things he owned and asked for a tour of the room.

''While we do that, Marinette, could you grab my phone for me? It's in my dad's office.''

She got nervous at the question. Adrien said that his father was in his office. If she would grab his phone, that meant being alone in a room with his father.

''Pretty please?'' He put on kitten eyes.

She couldn't say no to that. She regretted telling him that 'baby doll eyes' are very affective on her. He used those eyes on her all the time. She sighed and smiled. ''Sure.''

She actually didn't mind walking to the office. She didn't have to listen to him blabber on about his room, she knew everything already. She's been there enough times, with or without his father's knowledge. She could take in the enormous hallway now. All the photos of Adrien with his family or just pictures only showing him. Her designer's eye also looked at other things. The smoothness of the walls. The details on the doors. The pattern on the carpet on the floor. This house was not only big and obviously really expensive, it was breathtakingly beautiful.

She stopped in front of the door that she thought was leading to the office. Her nerves got the better of her for a second and she wanted to walk back, probably making up some excuse about that his phone wasn't there. She scolded herself for her thoughts and straightened her back. She knocked.

Nathalie opened up. ''Yes?''

''Uhm, hi! I need to get something for Adrien. I-''

''Of course, come in.''

Marinette entered the office. Well, office? In her eyes it didn't look at all like a regular office. There were big piles of sketchbooks, some maybe twenty years old, considering how worn out they looked. There was also a collection of books written by other designers on a few shelfs. Marinette recognized some of the books. A lot of them were in her collection as well.

''Marinette, dear. How can I be of service?''

She didn't quite hear him. She was amazed by everything in the room. Now she knows how Alya must feel in Adrien's room right now.

After not hearing an answer, Gabriel stared at Marinette. He saw her looking around the room in amazement and smiled at her.

''Impressive, right? It takes a lot of time and effort, but the result is quite wanted.''

He got her out of her daze. ''Y-yeah. It's amazing how much you have designed over all the years.'' She stood in front of the bookshelves and spread her arms to point at all of them. ''And look at these! I got a lot of them myself, but not nearly as much as you do. But that's not strange, you're a real designer after all."

"Don't say that, Marinette. I'm pretty sure one day your name will be known too. I know you have the skills."

Marinette beamed at the compliment. "Really? Wow, that's… really nice of you to say Mr. Agreste. I've got a lot to learn though, I'm not even close to what you can do."

"Practice makes perfect. If you want, I could guide you. Give you some tips here and there."

"That would be amazing! Thank you so much!"

"No need to thank me, everything for my son's… girlfriend." Marinette noticed he had a hard time saying that word. "But, what was it that you wanted?"

"Oh, right, Adrien's phone. He asked me to get it. It's somewhere here he said."

"I remember, he left it lingering so I told Nathalie to bring it to him. That was about an hour ago," Gabriel said with a raised brow.

Nathalie nodded in agreement. "He hasn't been here ever since. He has his phone himself."

"Oh, well I'll tell him then. Thank you!"

She left the room and followed the long hallway back to Adrien's bedroom. When she stepped inside, Alya and Adrien were still busy with the tour and they had their backs to her. She quickly grabbed her phone and dialed Adrien's number before they would see her, just to be sure.

As expected, Adrien's phone rang. From his pocket.

Adrien immediately tensed and hastily turned it off, not wanting Marinette to hear it in the other room.

Marinette coughed dramatically to raise attention.

Alya turned around straight away and once again Adrien tensed. He slowly turned around with a goofy smile. "H-hey, Mari."

She glared at him with half slitted eyes. She was going to have fun with this.

She spoke with a sad voice. "If you wanted me to leave you could have just asked me."

He thought she was actually upset and jogged towards her. "No, no! Of course not!" He hugged her. "Never! I just have a little surprise for you and wanted to talk to Alya about it, that's all."

Fake tears were about to come. "Surprise?"

She quickly glanced at Alya who could clearly see through her charade. She did laugh silently and encouraged her to keep going.

"Yes, surprise. If I told you what the surprise was, would that make you feel better?"

Marinette nodded. She was actually curious to what he had planned.

"Okay, I'll tell you a little secret then." He pulled her closer so he could whisper in her ear. "…You're not very good at fake crying."

Marinette snorted and pushed him away. "You're awful!"

"Don't you mean cl-"

"Don't you dare say that or I'll use my yoyo on you."

"What are you gonna do, tie me up to the Eiffel Tower?" He towered above her with a smirk.

She stood on the tips of her toes and her nose brushed his. "That's actually not a bad idea…"

Adrien gulped. He should not have given her the idea.

Alya coughed. "Hello? You guys are cute and all, but I'm kind of being a third wheel over here."

"Sorry," they both mumbled.

"But seriously," Marinette started. "What kind of plan do you have now? Because you did want me to leave."

"That stays between me and Alya. She'll give you all the information you need to know. Later."

"Exciting," Marinette said and wiggled her fingers.

"Don't worry, girl. It's gonna be awesome."

"Pawsome," Adrien quickly whispered. They could hear him though.

Marinette deadpanned. Alya laughed.

"Is he always like this?" Alya asked.

"Sadly, he is."

He put his arm around Marinette and squeezed her. "Oh, you love me."

"That, I do." She hugged him back. Her eyes shot open at the realization of what she said and she looked at him. He gave her a satisfied smile and she blushed in return.

Alya didn't notice their silent conversation. "Nino would love your cat puns though. His sense of humor matches with yours. That's gonna be a pain."

Adrien sat down on his couch, Marinette followed and leaned against him.

"Yeah, probably." He laughed at himself. "I wonder what would happen if I told Nino. I've always wanted to, but knew I couldn't. But now that things have changed…" He squeezed Marinette's hand.

"Then you tell him, he's on his way right now."

"It's not that easy, Alya. When you figured me out, you needed some time to process. If we would tell him, he would have to deal with it in this room. And he would get two secrets at a time. That's a bit much to handle, isn't it?" Marinette explained.

Tikki flew out of her hiding spot. "Besides, it's not like you should just tell everybody. It was actually not even meant for you to find out." Tikki pointed to Alya.

"But Nino is my friend, Tikki. I know I can talk to Marinette and Alya about everything, but talking to Nino is different." Adrien lowered his head.

Tikki went to sit on his lap so he could see her. "It's your choice and your responsibility. If you know you can trust him with this, I won't stop you. Just keep in mind that this is not for everyone to know. Even if you're one hundred percent certain that he won't tell, a secret like this can do weird things to a human's mind. Just remember that."

Adrien smiled and petted the Kwami. "I'll keep that in mind. Thank you, Tikki."

The red Kwami giggled and hugged his cheek.

"Hey, cheek-hugs are our thing!" Marinette pouted.

"Too bad, I'm keeping her." He held onto Tikki tightly and stuck out his tongue. "Cheek-hugs are way better than smelly cheese."

"Is that so? Then I'll take Plagg. Where is he?" Marinette looked around the room.

"Probably looting the kitchen. As usual."

"Okay, I'm on my way then. I would probably look really good in a catsuit."

She used her hand as a claw and meowed. When she walked to the door she swished her hips for good measure.

Adrien grinned at her behavior. He couldn't stop his eyes from drifting down. He could not deny what she said: that suit would look amazing on her.

Marinette left the room to fetch Plagg. He shouldn't be alone in the house anyway. Adrien laid down on his couch and Alya went to sit on it as well, near his head.

She pressed his nose. "I saw that, you know."

He swiped her hand away and laughed. "I can look at her butt. She obviously wanted me to, she was basically swinging it in my face."

"What's with you boys and looking at our behinds?"

"It's not just boys, Marinette checks me out too. Especially when I'm Chat Noir, just ask her."

"Oh, I will. Then she can tell me all the deets about mister model in that tight suit."

"Hey, I totally rock the cat look. I look shredded in the suit." He grinned at his secret pun.

Alya rolled her eyes and pushed him off the couch.

"Ouch."

"You deserved it." Alya laughed.

Marinette came back in the room and had someone with her, Nino. Tikki noticed and hid quickly.

They both saw the sight of Adrien flat faced on the floor and Alya laughing.

"I don't even want to know, dude," Nino said.

When they heard Nino's voice, their attention immediately went to him. Adrien got up from the ground to give him a hug.

"Hey, man. How did you get inside?"

"I let him in," Marinette answered. "Took me a while though. Sorry if I in some way broke the system. It's just too complicated!"

"I'm sure it's fine." Adrien patted Marinette on the head.

"So, now that we're all here, we gonna hang out here some more or are we gonna go to the movies already?" Alya asked.

"I don't want to leave yet, when I opened the door for Nino it was so cold! And to think that it's spring."

"Who said anything about leaving?" Adrien said and grabbed a remote from his coffee table. He pressed a few buttons to let a big screen come down on the wall and to dim the lights in his room.

"Awesome!" All three exclaimed with their mouths wide open.

He handed the remote to Alya. "Here, you guys can pick. I'll grab something to eat and drink for us." He gave Nino a nervous look. "Nino, you coming?"

"Sure, man."

The boys left the room and the girls sat down on the couch.

"You think he's gonna tell him?" Alya asked.

"Maybe. I get that he would want to tell him himself, but I expect Adrien to tell him together with me."

Alya was scrolling through all the movies Adrien had. "Also, I have a question."

"Okay."

"…Do you think Adrien looks hot as Chat Noir?"

Marinette snorted. "What kind of question is that?"

"I'm just saying, I know how he looks as Chat Noir, but you look differently at him. He said you love him in his suit."

Marinette started to blush. "I would be lying if I said he didn't look… attractive. You know, with his wild hair and black leather."

"And his butt in the suit."

Marinette laughed. "Yeah, that too. Gotta love me some kitty butt."

"So, what do you want to watch? Some chick flick to mess with them?"

"Hm, can you search for-"

A loud thud and the sound of stuff falling to the ground.

Alya and Marinette looked at each other in confusion. They both shrugged and got up to see what or who made the noise.

They saw Nathalie on the floor gathering stuff. She probably tripped and thus dropped everything.

"Oh, let us help you with that."

They helped the woman up and gathered her stuff.

"Thank you. Luckily nothing is broken. Mr. Agreste would fire me on the spot."

"Is he really that strict? It was an accident." Alya crossed her arms.

"There goes a saying: 'Only the best for Mr. Agreste.' There is a reason why people say that."

Both girls nodded. Marinette was still carrying some of the stuff Nathalie had. "Where can I put this?"

"You can put it downstairs, if you don't mind. Just go down the stairs, go immediately right and take the second door on your left. Just put it on the table there."

"Sure thing."

Marinette followed the instructions and Alya followed her. They entered the room and Marinette put the stuff on the table.

"Nice work, Marinette," Tikki said from her shoulder.

"AAaaahhh!" Marinette yelled and dropped down to her feet. Tikki was thrown off her shoulder and phased through a painting.

Tikki phased through it again, back into the room, and had big eyes.

"Tikki, don't scare me like that! I thought you were still upstairs."

"Sorry, Marinette. I didn't mean to startle you. But quickly, move away the painting. There is something I want to see."

"You can't just move away someone's painting," Alya scolded.

"I'm not even sure it's possible," Marinette finished, taking in the big painting. It was a beautiful painting of Adrien's mom.

"Just do it, Marinette. I have to be certain."

"B-bu-but. Ugh!"

She reluctantly wiggled the paining until she heard something click. She moved the painting some more and it opened like a door. A safe was shown.

"A family safe behind a painting?" Marinette questioned.

"Isn't that some kind of movie cliché?" Alya said.

"Open it up!" Tikki said impatiently.

"No way. It's not my safe, and I don't even know the code. Why do you want it to open so badly?"

"I saw a book inside it. It was dark so I couldn't see it properly, but if it's the book I think it is, we need to have our hands on it."

"But Tikki- TIKKI!"

Without saying anything the red Kwami went in the safe and opened it up from the inside.

"Here, this is the book I was talking about."

"Not cool," Alya said and folded her arms.

Marinette grabbed the book and flipped pages. "Tikki, I hate it when you're like this. I don't understand what's so special about… OH MY GOSH!"

"What, what is it?"

"It's, it's… me! Ladybug. And look here, Chat Noir. Hawk Moth. And loads of others."

"This is a book about the Miraculous heroes?" Alya asked and flipped through some pages herself.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you. This book is important, Marinette. And it's also not supposed to be here."

"But if Adrien has this book it's okay, right? I only wonder why he never told me about it."

"Marinette?"

Marinette gasped and thought she could never breathe again. That was Adrien's voice. She turned around being red as a tomato. She dropped the book when she became a statue, Alya could just grab it before it hit the ground.

She used the tiny bit of breath she had to form words. "Adrien! I-I-I'm so sorry. I never meant to- I mean it was Tikki's idea and-and, uh, then we found this book about Miraculous and-"

She thought he was alone, but now she saw Nino standing behind him with a confused look. Shoot, she used the words 'Tikki' and 'Miraculous'. This was just great.

"Uh-oh," Alya spoke.

Marinette went down on her knees and pulled her hair. She wanted to say a million things at a time, but the only sound that came from her mouth were frustrated mumblings.

Adrien walked in her direction and squatted next to her. "Marinette?" He looked up at Alya, but she looked away with innocent eyes. Tikki was hidden behind Alya's back.

Marinette's voice was barely above a whisper. "Please tell me you told Nino."

He scratched the back of his neck. "Sorry. I wanted to, but I chickened out."

"Dude, tell me what? And what's Marinette talking about, what's up with the book?"

Adrien sighed. "Get up." He pulled her up and took in the room. "I don't know what to say."

"Adrien, I'm sorry. I should have never violated your privacy. This is your family's safe and your book."

"Well, about that, I have no clue what you're talking about. I never knew we had a safe behind mom's painting. Nor did I know about this book. What's in it?"

"Guys, I'm still here and not getting anything!" Nino exclaimed.

Alya handed Adrien the book. "It's a book about… you guys."

He took in the pages. "No way."

"Hello, Earth to friends. Nino is still here too, you know?" He pointed to himself.

Adrien breathed deeply and gestured Nino to come look at the book. "There is no point in lying anymore. Take a look. Who is this?"

"Uhm, Ladybug?"

He flipped to another page. "And this?"

"Chat Noir, right?"

"Yup. So, there is something I should tell you… for quite some time."

"Hold on, don't go too fast. What did Alya mean by the book is about you guys?"

Adrien showed his hand. "You remember my ring, don't you?"

"Uh-huh, you always wear it. But-"

Nino looked down at the book and saw one of the pictures; Chat Noir's ring. The people in Paris, Nino being part of that, might be oblivious to their heroes' true identities, but when it was this obvious even Nino could connect the dots.

"…You're kidding."

Adrien shook his head. "Nope, wouldn't dare."

Nino flipped the book back to the Ladybug page. He looked at the pictures and saw the earrings. He glanced up at Marinette.

She nervously shifted her weight by noticing Nino was staring at her. She sighed and put her hair behind her ear so he could see her earrings.

"Dude!"

Silence. Everyone was looking at Nino with anticipation.

"Y-you're not gonna tell anyone, right?" Marinette whispered.

"He better not!" Alya said and poked Nino's chest.

"Look, Nino. We trust you. I understand that you're mad that we kept this from you, but… you know… please don't tell anyone." The only thing he could do was to give a pleading smile and hope for the best.

They could see the gears running in Nino's mind. After a minute of silence, Nino smiled and pulled Adrien in a hug.

Adrien gasped at the unexpected gesture, but hugged in return.

"I'm not mad, bro. Seriously, how could I be? Two of my best buds are Ladybug and Chat Noir!"

"Shhh," they all hushed.

"Right, sorry. Secret and such. Got it."

Marinette was obviously not calm yet, even if she tried to. Nino could see that.

"Someone else needs a hug too." Nino spread his arms.

Marinette smiled and bumped against his chest. He put his arms around her.

"I hate to ruin the moment, but shouldn't we close everything off and finish this up in your room so your dad won't get mad?" Alya offered.

"Right," Adrien said. He closed the safe and put the painting in front of it again. He still held onto the book.

"You're gonna keep that?" Marinette asked.

"Heck yeah. The information in here is probably of upmost importance to us. And who else needs to read it?"

"Well, it was in your dad's safe, so he must have had the book for some reason," Nino said.

"Doesn't matter. I'll ask my father about the safe later. After we've read the book. Come on, let's go up before he sees us."

"Okay, but once we're upstairs we ain't gonna watch a movie. I want to hear every crazy story you guys have for me."

Marinette and Adrien laughed. "Sure."

They went for the stairs. Alya stopped midstep.

"Adrienette!"

The boys looked at her in confusion.

"Alya, seriously?" Marinette grumbled and facepalmed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All happy and joy!
> 
> Gabriel can be a compassionate and kind man, so I wanted to show that side of him with Marinette. There will be more of him soon, because I f-ing love Gabriel! (My favorite episode from season 1 is Simon Says/Jackady, so yeah) What's your favorite episode?
> 
> And Adrien is being all weird and secretive. What do you guys think?
> 
> Extra note, Volpina never happened here. Hence why Marinette found the book.
> 
> Have a lovely day!


	8. Uncover

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The whole crew is in on the secret now and everything is explained to Nino. I don't want with every person finding out that they get everything explained, meet Tikki and Plagg etc. written out. So, Nino knows everything he needs to knows, has met Tikki and Plagg and has processed the news, but offscreen wise.

The quartet of friends was hanging out in Marinette's room during lunch. They would have to go back to school soon, but right now they were still savoring the free time they had.

"This is so frustrating! I don't understand a thing!" Marinette yelled, closing the book and putting it in Adrien's arms.

For the past days they have been trying to decipher the information from the book they found in the safe in Adrien's house. The Kwamis tried their best, but even they didn't understand the book. The pictures and drawings were the only clue as to what the book said.

"That's because it's written in code. There are some parts that are Chinese, but there is nothing more I can translate," Adrien said calmly.

"What do the parts you do understand say then?" Alya asked.

"Basically that the Miraculous are an ancient Chinese secret. Throughout history people became a 'Chosen' because of their heart. You know, kindness, selflessness, that kind of stuff."

"At least that's something, right?" Nino beamed.

"What I don't understand though is why your little friends can't explain it to you. Where are they anyway?" Alya looked around Marinette's bedroom to search for said Kwamis.

"They're with the 'Great Guardian' as we speak. They couldn't quite translate the code as well, so they wanted us to meet him," Marinette explained.

"They wanted to talk to him alone first, so we'll be without them for a few hours. I really hope nothing will happen in the meantime, otherwise we're doomed," Adrien filled in.

"Hawk Moth has been acting up more recently. It actually really worries me." Marinette rubbed her arms.

"He's probably pretty sick of losing to you guys all the time, so he wants to go hardcore now."

Adrien noticed the half-smile Marinette gave to Nino. Even though his friend meant it as a joke, the last they thing they needed was for Hawk Moth to go 'hardcore'. It was already though enough to balance regular life and superhero life, but it was still doable.

Nino's theory actually made sense. Adrien compared it to his fencing. It was like when you were fighting a guy, but you lose every time. You try over and over again to win, yet you still can't do it. Then you have two choices: either you give up or you try harder and get more aggressive. Hawk Moth was obviously going for the second choice and he showed less mercy every day. The akumatized victims were tougher and harder to defeat.

Adrien put an arm around Marinette and kissed her head. "We'll be fine, Bugaboo. Besides, if an Akuma takes more time we've got Alya and Nino to cover for us."

"But that won't help us with catching Hawk Moth. What if-"

"That's why Plagg and Tikki are talking with that guy. With his help, and that of the book, we'll be able to get rid of Hawk Moth once and for all." He petted her head to calm her down.

She sighed. "I know, I know…"

She wanted to scratch him behind his ear as a thank you for his encouraging words. He flinched though the second she touched it, so she retreated her hand. It was really odd. She knew he liked it when he was being petted or scratched, but every time she wanted to do such a thing he acted uncomfortable. Was he doing that on purpose?

Her thoughts were interrupted by her mother entering the room.

"Marinette, we've got something for you!" Sabine's voice boomed. She entered the room with a plate full of baked goods. "Cookies, croissants, cupcakes and bread. I think you kids will enjoy yourselves."

"Thanks, mom. It looks great!"

They all grabbed something they desired. Nino went for a croissant, but Adrien slapped his hand away and grabbed it for himself.

"Not cool, bro."

"Mine," Adrien responded with a childish voice and fake hiss.

"Easy boys, there is enough for everyone," Sabine tried to soothe.

"Aren't you supposed to be on some sort of super model diet?" Marinette asked.

Adrien stared at her straight in the eyes as he took a big bite.

"That answers how much he cares," Nino laughed.

"Oh, Adrien sweetie. You shouldn't do that if you're not allowed to," Sabine said worried.

Adrien gave the woman a sweet smile. "No, it's fine, Sabine."

"Okay, but I will not give them to you that often then, I don't want to make your father mad."

"What? No!" Adrien whined.

"Don't even try, Miss Cheng. Adrien adores croissants. He'll burn down the whole bakery if you stopped making them," Alya joked.

"I see." Tom's head poked out next to Sabine. "Well, I suppose he'll be coming over lots of times, so I'll be sure to make them for you, kid."

"Papa…" Marinette groaned in embarrassment.

"I'll keep you to that, Tom. Otherwise I'll bring a box of matches next time I'm here," Adrien said, continuing on Alya's joke.

The old man barked out a laugh. "Need to be careful with you then. I beloaf we got ourselves a pyromaniac here."

Marinette rolled her eyes at her father's pun.

"Well, things do always get 'toasty' when I'm around," Adrien quipped back with a smirk.

Marinette looked at Adrien in surprise and slight worry as to what would come. Her father had awakened the pun-beast inside her boyfriend. Nino, Alya and Sabine couldn't stop laughing at the interaction.

"Ah, you're a joker too, huh? Well, I'm the baker here, so scone be hard to defeat me."

"Wheat are you talking about? I loaf puns like these, I could go on for hours."

"I donut doubt that, but the yeast you could do is put more effort in it."

"There is no knead for effort if it goes effortlessly."

"Oh, kill me now," Marinette groaned, but she had to laugh as well.

Her father continued. "Crumb on, those weren't that good. You butter step up your game."

"Oh, I got my bread in the game, dough I think you should worry about if you don't run out of buns."

"I've been baking these jokes before Marinette was even born. I'll never run out of buns."

"I crust you on that, but mine are still butter."

There was a short silence. Tom was obviously thinking of a comeback, but didn't seem to find one. He put up his hand for Adrien.

"Nice job. You're a worthy opponent, Adrien."

Adrien high-fived the man. "Same to you."

"I think it's time we left the children to themselves," Sabine interrupted with a laugh and went down the stairs. Tom followed her and closed the trapdoor.

Alya and Nino were still laughing with tears in their eyes, barely able to eat their food.

Marinette shook her head. "I can't believe you guys. This can't be happening. Having one of you at home or school is one thing, but at the same time?"

"If there is one thing I have in common with my father, it's my competitiveness. No one defeats Adrien Agreste. I'm the pun-master." He put out his chest after taking another bite from his croissant.

"Sadly you are," Marinette grunted. "And since when are you allowed to call my parents by their first name?"

"We had a talk. Not to brag, but they love me." He put his hands under his chin and blinked extra slowly.

"Cause that's not bragging at all," Alya said and took another bite out of her cupcake.

"What kind of talk? Where was I?" Marinette asked, not listening anymore after his first sentence. She towered above him with questioning eyes.

"I don't know, you had to deliver something for them when we wanted to go out. I was waiting for about half an hour before you showed up, so we had to fill up the spare time."

Marinette gasped in disbelief. "I remember that. You said it was only five minutes!"

Adrien put his hand on front of his face, afraid she might hit him.

"What did you talk about?" She poked his hands.

He pushed her hands away softly and scratched his neck. "You. Us. It's not a big deal, really."

"It is to me. I want to know!"

"Nothing wrong with a secret between parents and their future son-in-law," Nino commented with a laugh.

Adrien and Marinette deadpanned, but still secretly blushed.

"You do realize they're only dating for a few weeks now, right?" Alya said with a raised brow.

"Hey, I don't know how many future plans they have."

"We're right here, you know?" Adrien put his hands on his hips.

"Anyways, another secret? What about that one with Alya? You haven't spoken to me about that in days."

"Actually, I wanted to do that today," Adrien confessed.

"Right." Marinette rolled her eyes.

"No, it's the truth. Alya, give Marinette the invitation."

Marinette raised a brow at the the word invitation. Alya pulled said object from her bag and handed it to Marinette.

It was an invitation to some sort of party in the Agreste mansion. It was to celebrate Gabriel's new summer collection. A few designs would be showed as preparation for the real show at the beginning of summer. The invitation was for next month.

"The reason why it was a surprise, was because my father wasn't sure yet if you, Alya and Nino could come and I didn't want to make you all excited for nothing."

She looked at the golden paper with big eyes. "But you did tell Alya."

"And me," Nino added.

Marinette huffed. "Tch, that doesn't seem really fair. I'm the only one who didn't know."

"That's because I know you, and you would want to make your own fancy dress instead of buying one. I didn't want to disappoint you."

Marinette didn't know what to say. She was going to go to a fancy party with probably hundreds of designers! And yes, she was going to make her own dress to impress the people there, duh.

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe it!" She attacked him in a hug and they ended up tangled on the floor. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! This is the best surprise ever!"

"Really now? The best?" Adrien questioned with a smile and a raised brow. "What about, I don't know, me being Chat Noir or something like that? Was that not the biggest shock of your life?"

"Pfft, that's old news."

"I feel offended." Adrien put his hand to his heart, pretending to be stabbed there.

Marinette, still being half on top of him, nuzzled his chest. "I'm just used to it now, but you seriously got me mad, happy and mind blown at the same time."

"Don't I always?" He lifted her by her chin and gave her a few soft kisses she happily returned.

Completely forgetting their other two friends, Marinette was now fully on top of Adrien and he put his arms around her, still locking lips.

"Geez, get a room," Alya laughed.

"You guys are just as bad," Marinette commented in between kisses, not wanting to stop just yet.

"Not in public," Nino shot back.

"This is not in public, this is my room."

"Well, you've got public. And the public can see everything," Alya said. "That means the public can see your hand too, Agreste! You better move that thing into another direction."

Adrien quickly removed the hand that was moving down to Marinette's butt. He smirked and Marinette giggled.

"He's allowed to," Marinette defended, sitting up straight now.

"Not when I'm near. It's my job to protect you," Alya said with crossed arms.

"Even from me?" Adrien asked, getting out of his daze from lying on the floor. He was sitting next to Marinette now.

"You turn into a guy in a leather catsuit who visits her at night. Especially you," Alya responded as she hugged Marinette protectively.

"He sneaks into your room at night?" Nino asked Marinette. "Why? What do you guys do then?" He wiggled his eyebrows.

Both Marinette and Adrien blushed. "Nothing. It's not what you think," Marinette said.

"We should head back to school," Adrien said hastily and he grabbed one last cookie from the plate as he got up from his spot.

The group said their goodbyes to Marinette's parents and headed for school. The couples both walked hand-in-hand. When they were nearing the school grounds, a group of reporters was standing nearby. After seeing the, to them unknown, superhero couple, they ran towards them.

"Miss Dupain-Cheng, do you have a minute? It's about your relationship with Chat Noir!"

"Aren't you already in a relationship with this young man here? Mr. Agreste, right?"

"Does that mean you are having two relationships at the same time?"

"Mr. Agreste, what do you think about all of this?"

"You are her friends, right? Do you know anything about her relationship with Chat Noir?"

It has been weeks since Valentine's Day and they were still on top of the subject. They just kept asking questions, rude questions at that. They didn't respect her privacy at all. If only they would know the truth, then they would leave her alone. But of course she couldn't say that.

The group tried to ignore them and walk inside the school, but the reporters followed them and pretty much blocked their way in.

Marinette politely asked them to go away, but they wouldn't listen. Alya, in a bit more rude way, asked the same thing, but they didn't listen either.

Why was everything so messed up? She thought that now all the secrets were out to each other, everything would be balanced in some way, but it wasn't. News crews couldn't leave her alone, Hawk Moth was more active and, to be honest, their fighting dynamic wasn't the same anymore, something she feared from the beginning if they would ever reveal to each other, even before she knew Chat Noir was Adrien.

She thought their blind trust would disappear, but no, it was even stronger. It was their worry for each other that was different. In the past when something happened to Chat Noir she was of course worried, but it was different. When he would take a hit for her, she would panic, but fight the Akuma further and scold slash thank the cat later.

But now, knowing that Chat Noir wasn't only her classmate, but also her friend, her boyfriend now, she worried about him constantly. After every hit or kick she would ask him a million times if he was okay. She was paying more attention to him not getting hurt than the Akuma itself.

She wondered if he went through the same thing, it didn't seem like it. She didn't tell him about her problem because she thought it was just a phase. They weren't together for that long, of course she would worry more about him, right? She hoped it would wave over soon.

All the stress and problems she had was already a bit for much her to handle, but these journalists not leaving her alone was the last bit that was necessary to put her over the edge.

"Miss Marinette, do you have anything to say abou-"

"NO, I DO NOT! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE, OKAY? I HAVE NOTHING TO COMMENT AND I STAND BY MY POINT. DON'T YOU PEOPLE HAVE SOMETHING BETTER TO DO? JUST GO!"

She bumped against Adrien and hid her face in his neck, afraid she might cry if she would yell any further. He hugged her back to comfort her.

Alya and Nino gave the group of reporters angry and judgmental looks. Nino petted Marinette's head.

"Happy?" Alya said to the reporters with her hands on her hips. "Come on, guys. Let's go."

The group entered the school, leaving the other people outside, awed at what just happened.

Adrien hadn't spoken a word, not to the journalists or his friends. He just held Marinette soothingly until they parted when she went to her seat.

"Man, you okay? You look like you're about to kill someone," Nino pointed out to Adrien.

He had a dark glare and kept staring at nothing in front of him. "I might if they ever do that to her again."

"Dude, she's fine. Look." He pointed to the girls behind them.

Adrien turned his head and saw that Marinette was already smiling, happily chatting with Alya.

"Still. It is my job to protect her in any way I can, so I will."

"You mean your job as a superhero or as her boyfriend?" He laughed.

"Neither. Of course, that counts too, but it's not that. It's… you wouldn't understand."

"I can try."

"I don't feel like talking about it, Nino."

Nino heard the serious tone, so he dropped the subject.

Chloé entered the classroom. Adrien prepared himself for whatever greeting she would give him. She walked to him, so he thought she would be going for an embrace or kiss on the cheek. He wasn't in the mood, but she meant well, so he let her do her thing. Then she walked past him, to his surprise.

He turned around to see Chloé talking to Marinette.

"Are you all right, Marinette? I saw what happened outside."

"Oh, that? I'm fine, Chloé. Thanks for asking though," Marinette answered nervously, but also baffled. She still wasn't used to this new attitude Chloé had towards her.

"Okay, but tell me if I need to call daddy. He'll figure out their names and make sure they're fired."

"That's really not necessary. But again, thanks."

Chloé nodded and walked to her seat. Marinette gave big eyed looks to Adrien, Nino and Alya. They all knew Marinette and Chloé had some sort of truce going on, but seeing Chloé being all nice was… odd.

The rest of the day went by quickly, no Akuma occurred during the day for a change. The last fifteen minutes of class were going in.

"So, remember, pages twenty five till thirty seven. I know it's a lot, but you can be done with it quickly."

The class groaned, but still nodded at Miss Bustier's orders.

"All right, then I have something more exciting for you. The comic book fanatics here might know that next week is superhero week. Normally we as a school don't do anything with it, but since Paris has their own superheroes now, why not celebrate it?"

The class already got excited and cheered.

The teacher shushed them with her hands. "What you're supposed to do is honor our heroes in some way. Doesn't really matter how. It's not for a grade, just for fun. It's still obligatory though. You'll show everyone what you did next Friday."

Since there were only a few minutes left, she let the children chat with each other while she read a book at her desk. The whole class was deciding what to do for next Friday.

Alya nudged Marinette. "You guys should totally cosplay. You'll impress everyone with how real it looks."

"I wonder why," Nino joked.

"I don't know," Adrien said. "Isn't it dangerous? What if it looks too real for someone and they figure it out?"

"They didn't when they saw you fight right in front of their face. Nino and I didn't either."

"Yeah, but now they have someone to compare it with. They would know we're wearing the suits," Marinette pointed out.

"It's risky, but still a rad idea. You should totally consider it," Nino spoke.

One minute. Only one minute and school would be over. They would go to Tikki and Plagg and get everything explained and everything would be fine. But of course, things were never that easy.

An ear deafening scream. It came from the streets. The whole class ran to the windows to see what was happening. A guy was shooting at people with some sort of staff. Whatever the reason was why he was doing it didn't matter. He was akumatized and needed to be stopped. Even without their Kwamis.

Maybe Tikki and Plagg would notice what was going on and come to their aid as fast as they could. But that would still take a while. They had to do something, now.

It was heading for the school. For their window. Their classroom. Before they knew it, the Akuma phased through the walls and inside the classroom, probably attracted by them gazing through the window.

Miss Bustier ordered the class to get home as fast as they could, but that didn't matter. The Akuma used his powers to make the door disappear. There was no way out now.

People were yelling in fear, trying to find a way out and hiding behind their desks. Even though the Akuma didn't do anything to them yet, everyone was terrified.

Adrien and Marinette shared quick glances with each other, not sure of what to do. Should they try to fight this guy, secret identity be darned? It was their job to protect others at all costs, but if there was a slight chance their identities could remain secret they should take it, right?

There was no way for them to transform. Even if Plagg and Tikki were with them. They couldn't leave, they were stuck in this classroom, they couldn't transform without anyone seeing them. They had to find another way to defeat this guy.

They weren't afraid of the Akuma with all of their experience, but they still had to act like they were. They hid behind a desk together.

"What now?" Marinette whispered.

"How am I supposed to know?" Adrien whispered back. "You're Miss Tactic, I mostly just follow you around."

Marinette looked over the desk and saw that the guy was slowly walking through the classroom menacingly. He wasn't attacking anyone, he was just trying to make everyone scared.

She put her finger to her chin thoughtfully. "You wanna go Chat Noir style?"

"Only like all the time," he answered with a smirk.

"Taunt him. Make him angry. If you show you aren't scared he might be distracted. In the meantime I'll see where the Akuma is hiding."

"And that would work why?"

"Just look at him walking around like a big jerk. I sense he has a huge ego, just like you." She narrowed her eyes playfully.

"We'll get back to that later," Adrien said as he stood up from his spot. He whistled at the guy to get his attention, which worked.

This wasn't their best plan. There would be questions. Why would kind Adrien feel the need to be brave and fight the Akuma? And what was up with clumsy Marinette suddenly helping him without fear? It was a very risky plan, but did they have a choice? Their classmates would be safe, that was the only important thing.

The Akuma was surprised, but then smirked at the bravery of the boy. "We got a little hero here, don't we?" He lifted his staff that kind of looked liked a wand. His outfit was like he was some messed up wizard.

"No hero is necessary if there is no actual villain," Adrien responded with a sassy tone. It actually felt really good to let his 'inner Chat Noir' out as himself.

People gasped at Adrien's sudden attitude. Not only was it surprising to see this coming from their kind classmate, but they were also scared it would get him in trouble. People that didn't hide yet did and others just hid more, hoping they would be safe from the blows Adrien was bound to get.

"You think you're really something, don't you?" A blast from his wand.

Adrien dodged it easily and jumped on the desk. "Missed me."

The wizard growled and shot again. And again. Adrien dodged all of the blasts and jumped from desk to desk, whistling like it was a breeze. He eventually got almost hit, so he ended up on the ground. He just slid further and was basically dancing around the Akuma with a smile. He was actually having too much fun with this.

The whole class watched in awe at what he was doing. People knew Adrien was quite athletic, but they never knew he could do this! They were so surprised at the fact that Adrien wasn't afraid of the villain at all.

Marinette had to repress her laugh at his behavior. It was funny to see him like this without his suit. She had to focus though. The villain. The spot where the Akuma would be hiding. She studied him and lingered on his belt. In hung loosely around his robe and was black and glittery. It could be part of his outfit, but she was sure that nothing else looked akumatized so she went for it.

When she moved from her spot, Adrien went to stand behind the teacher's desk so the villain was with his back towards her.

"You know, you never told us your name," Adrien said, trying to distract him from Marinette nearing him.

"My name is Maleficus." Another shot from his wand. Adrien quickly ducked behind the teacher's desk.

"Cool name. What is it, Latin?" Another blast he had to avoid.

"It doesn't matter, because before you will be able to say it out loud, you'll be burned to ashes!" He raised his wand again.

Marinette, slowly and softly, walked to the wizard like Akuma. The class gave her big eyes at what she was doing. She and Adrien were totally acting out of character right now. A lot of explaining would have to be done, but they would deal with that later. First the Akuma.

She was close to him now. Her hand was around his belt. She only had to pull it softly, so it would fall of his waist and then break it.

But he saw her. At least, he felt her. He looked down at the hand and grabbed it immediately. He pulled her in front of him. "So, another person who thinks she's brave? Such foolish people you are."

Panic danced across Adrien's face. Crud. That was the only thing he could be thinking right now.

Unfortunately for them, Maleficus noticed it too. He held his wand to Marinette's throat. "If I can't hit you, she gets it."

"No, please. Let her go."

"Should have thought about that sooner." The wand started to glow, ready to shoot.

"Wait! …What if I gave you Chat Noir's Miraculous?"

"Adrien, no!" Marinette yelled.

"Do I have a choice?" He snapped back.

"Yes, you do! Don't do it."

"But-"

"Silence!" Maleficus yelled. "Where is the Miraculous?"

Adrien looked at Marinette who was shaking her head.

"Adrien, whatever you do, don't-" Maleficus put a hand to her mouth.

"It's not very nice to decide for others what they need to do, young lady."

Adrien growled, feeling something boiling on the inside.

"If I gave you his Miraculous, would you let her go?"

He nodded.

"Fine then."

"Hmph!" Marinette shook her head frantically.

Alya and Nino got up from their hiding spots now too. "Adrien, stop it!" Alya called.

"Don't do it, man."

The rest of the class was confused at the interaction. What was exactly happening?

Adrien was fidgeting with his ring around his finger. If he would hand it over, Marinette would be safe. But the villain would have his Miraculous, his class would know it was him, everything would be lost. But if it would save Marinette it was worth it, right?

"Well?" The wizard spoke again. "What are you waiting for? Get it for me! Hawk Moth would be really pleased."

Adrien sighed angrily at the man's name. Hawk Moth was the cause of all of this. One day he would find him, Miraculous or not, and he would destroy him.

He sighed in defeat. "Here you go." He took off his ring and threw it on the floor in front of him.

Maleficus looked at the ring on the floor and then back at Adrien. "You?"

He nodded without emotion. "Let her go," he said softly.

Maleficus let go of Marinette and dived down to the floor. Adrien ran past him to hug Marinette.

"You okay?" He brushed a few strands of her hair.

She pushed him away. "What have you done, Adrien?" Tears were almost in the corners of her eyes.

Maleficus looked at the ring in his hands. "Looks legit."

"After Hawk Moth gets the ring he'll rids you of your powers. The world would be a disaster and you'll be living in it too!" Marinette said.

"Ha, you think I'm gonna give this to Hawk Moth? No way, he can take my powers away any time he likes. At least I got this ring now!"

He wanted to say something else, but he suddenly got a cramp. "N-no, Hawk Moth. Y-you can say w-whatever you like, but this ring's m-mine." He blasted a hole in the wall, leading outside. "Gotta go, thanks for the ring again!" He laughed evilly and jumped out of the school.

Marinette and Adrien watched him disappear. He was jumping around, but had trouble though, Hawk Moth still trying to get control of him.

Silence. The duo didn't know what to do right now. Adrien's ring was gone and they had no idea where Tikki and Plagg were. There was nothing they could do.

"Adrien? You're Chat Noir?" The first voice who spoke was surprisingly Chloé's.

He turned to his class who had come out of their hiding spots. There was no point in lying anymore. "Was. Not anymore." He sighed.

The class stared at him, not knowing what to say. Was there anything to say? Apparently their classmate has been Chat Noir all this time and right now he lost his ring to an Akuma. That was the situation right now and nothing more could be said about it.

Adrien turned to Marinette who was staring through the big hole, blankly. "Marinette?"

"You're an idiot."

"I know." He dropped his head in shame.

She looked at him. "You should have never given up you're Miraculous so easily like that."

"I just freaked out. There was nothing I could do and it is my job to protect-"

"It's my job too!" She raised her voice. "If I get hit for some reason, so be it. We need to protect others."

She looked away from him. He was still glancing down and clenching fists, like a kid being scolded. She closed her eyes and sighed, remembering something. She calmed down.

"Minou, I'm not mad, just stressed." She walked to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Let's just kick this Akuma's butt and get your ring back."

He looked up. "I love you, M'Lady."

"I love you more."

"Never."

They hugged, a long hug. The other people in the room stared at the scene. Even though their conversation was hard to follow, it was quite obvious to them now what was really going on.

Miss Bustier, being very proud of her students now that she knew what they did on a daily basis, coughed to get attention. "I suppose we're all a bit baffled by this…" She pointed at the two. "…news, but is there a plan?"

Marinette and Adrien let go of each other. "To get out of here, that's what," Adrien said.

"But how? There is no door and we can't jump through that enormous hole, it's too high!" Alix commented.

Marinette looked around the classroom. She noticed the windows next to where the door was supposed to be. They could break them and they could get to the hallway, but how?

She saw Miss Bustier's office chair. "Bingo." She grabbed it and went for the window.

"Marinette, what are you-"

She rammed the chair against the glass a few times before smashing it through it, shattering the window to pieces.

"Holy!" Nino exclaimed.

A moan could be heard from Miss Bustier. She was not really happy with school property being destroyed, but she also had the logical and rational thoughts that there was probably no other option.

Marinette brushed off her hands. "There. A way out."

"Nice job," Alya said with a laugh. "And I thought you were the calm and collected one."

Marinette put her hands on her hips. "Can't I blow off some steam? I'm super pissed right now, you know?"

"Well, save your anger for the Akuma," Adrien said as he stepped over the mess of glass and into the hallway.

"With pleasure." She smirked and took his hand as he guided her over the shattered pile.

They helped everyone over it and went outside. Marinette and Adrien were scheming a plan while the rest of the group just followed them. At some point they noticed.

The group looked at them with anticipating smiles.

"What?" The duo questioned.

"Is there anything we can do?" Kim asked.

"Yeah, we want to help!" Rose exclaimed.

Marinette gave them a half smile. "Just go home and be safe. We'll handle this."

Juleka protested. "But we can help!"

Others nodded in agreement and held their stance, not considering going home.

"It would only be saver," Adrien argued again.

"Adrien," Chloé said who stepped forward. "You actually think you're going to go to that weird wizard guy without me?"

Adrien smirked back. "I've got experience. Chloé, everyone, just go home."

She folded her arms. "Okay then, but don't hurt your pretty face."

He rolled his eyes and smiled. "Sure."

Marinette looked at the sky and saw two black and red dots flying through the air. "Tikki, Plagg! Over here!"

They zipped down to them.

"Marinette, what's happening?" Tikki asked. "Why is there an Akuma and- your class! Why are they here?! They can see us!"

"Everything is just messed up, okay? They know of us now because of the Akuma, but don't worry, I'll set things right. Time to transform. Spots on!" Marinette rambled quickly before Tikki could respond and transformed into Ladybug.

Marinette looked at her class who was staring at her. No wonder, she just to transformed right in front of them. It had to be quite an experience for them.

"Yeah yeah, so cool, so amazing and wonderful," she spoke sarcastically. "If you have questions, do that later. I've got an Akuma to take care of." With that she grabbed her yoyo and zipped away.

She did notice Chloé's look though. It wasn't only entranced, it was also filled with guilt.

"And you?" Plagg spoke. "Don't you need to do your thing?"

"I- I can't…"

Plagg looked confused until Adrien put up both of his hands, showing no ring.

"He's got your ring!?"

"It's fine, Plagg. Marinette will take care of it."

Plagg grumbled something, but then sighed. "Let's go."

"What, where?"

"We're not gonna do nothing, right? Let's follow her! Come on."

Plagg already flew away so Adrien jogged after him to catch up. "And you guys, go home! That means you too, Alya and Nino." He called behind him.

Nino and Alya grumbled in annoyance, but still nodded in agreement. The group went to split up and each person went on their way home.

oOo

Ladybug had never dashed over the rooftops of Paris this fast. She was going to get this Akuma and show no mercy. All rational thought that this man was actually still a person and couldn't quite help it, was gone. He had Adrien's ring and he was going to pay for it.

He came in sight, flying high in the sky. He apparently had put on the ring, he had claws, cat ears and a tail, while still wearing his old robe. It was quite weird, since he didn't have Plagg, but maybe it worked differently because he was akumatized. Hawk Moth's hold on him was gone too. He wasn't trembling anymore and he looked powerful, he had full control. It probably didn't work anymore because of the Miraculous.

"Okay, Maleficus was it? Time to stop this nonsense. Give me back Chat Noir's Miraculous."

"No can do, sweetheart. I have a better plan, what if you give me your Miraculous?"

"Sorry, don't think that'll be a good idea. Let me instead show you how much of a sweetheart I can be."

She jumped towards him, but he vanished, like he teleported. He appeared behind her and he aimed his wand at her. She swung away by a street lantern and ended up on a rooftop, right before he could hit her.

He jumped next to her. "You're just like that annoying boy, dodging endlessly. Don't you think it's better if you at least tried to hit me? Or are you scared?"

She growled. "I'm so not scared of you. You want me to hit you? Fine. I'll do anything to protect my city."

"Your city, huh? Let's make it my city then."

Before she could question what he meant, he threw his wand in the air. Purple glitter and dust covered the city, all the people included. She was blinded by the particles flying through the air and the bright light. She closed her eyes.

When she opened them she couldn't believe her eyes. The whole city was different, like it was from the Middle Ages. Castles, people in knight armor and long dresses. Cars were carriages with horses and all technology disappeared.

When she looked down she saw her outfit had changed too. It was still her suit, but altered. She wore ballerina shoes with string going all the way up her bare legs. She was still wearing shorts, but had a long skirt flowing from the back. Her top had a v-neck and her long sleeves were covered in lace. Her mask was tied to the back and also on top of her head, forming a flower crown with red and black roses. Her hair was loose except the top part which was braided between the flower crown.

"Must be the Ladybug outfit from the Middle Ages," she whispered to herself.

Maleficus laughed evilly in the air. "You like the new theme? Paris looks so much better now, don't you think?"

Luckily, her yoyo was still the same. She wrapped it around his ankles and threw him to the ground. She jumped next to him and grabbed his belt. She broke it in half and prepared herself for the Akuma.

Only for the Akuma to never come.

"What?"

Maleficus laughed and wiggled his wand. "You want this?"

Ladybug smacked her self internally in the face. How could she be so stupid? Of course it was his wand, it was his weapon. Not some stupid belt.

Being distracted by her thoughts, she didn't see him teleport behind her. He hit her in the back and she ended up on the concrete. She turned around to see his wand pointed at her face.

"End of the line, Ladybug. Now, give me your earrings!"

A sword was thrown and knocked his wand out of hand. He frantically ran after it. The knight who apparently threw the sword grabbed it and slid it back into its holder. He turned to Ladybug and hoisted her up.

"Ehm, thank you."

He put her hand to his heart and hugged it. "You're welcome, Princess."

A quick confused look before she moved her hand to his face and slid the valve up, showing his eyes.

"Adrien?"

He winked at her.

"Oh my gosh, look at you! Now I know you don't only pull off the catsuit, the knight armor works for you too."

"Hm, good to know. But you, M'Lady, you look amazing! That outfit is just gorgeous."

She spun once. "I know, right? I love it. Wish I could wear this every day."

"Well, if you would do that then I wouldn't be able to keep my eyes off you. Wouldn't be handy with the villains, now would it?" He smirked at her and she blushed in return.

Maleficus interrupted them. "Oh, look at you. So cute."

He shot at them again. They jumped away in time, both the other direction.

"Right," Marinette said. "A villain to take care of."

"Where is the Akuma?" Adrien asked.

"In his wand. We have to get it, now."

"You don't have to tell me," he responded. He went for Maleficus, using his sword. His fencing classes really paid off now.

Adrien lashed his sword at him and Ladybug kept trying to tie him up with her yoyo, to no avail. He either blocked his attacks with his wand or he teleported to another spot. They ended up in the park near the fountain, which was now a bottomless well.

Out of nowhere and much to their surprise, Maleficus took off the ring, returning to his old akumatized self. He held the ring above the well.

"One more step and I'll drop it."

"No!" They both said.

"Let go of your weapons."

They looked at each other before throwing their yoyo and sword on the ground in defeat. Adrien glanced behind Maleficus and a smile appeared on his face.

"You know what? No." He grabbed the sword again. "Give me my ring, now!" His tone was angry and demanding.

"Wrong choice." He dropped the ring.

Ladybug gasped, thinking the ring would be gone forever. That was before something black flew by and grabbed it before it could disappear in the hole. It went to Adrien and dropped the ring in his hands.

"Good job, Plagg." Adrien said and he put the ring around his finger again.

"Hey, I'm a cat, not a dog."

"Who's a good boy? Yes, you are. Yes, you are," Adrien said jokingly and tickled his Kwami. Plagg, much to his dismay, couldn't resist the urge to laugh at the touch.

"No!" Maleficus said. Being confused by what just happened, he dropped his wand.

Ladybug grabbed her yoyo as fast as she could and immediately tied it around the wand. She pulled it towards her and broke it in half.

The Akuma flew out of it and into the sky. Before it could go any further, it was snatched by Ladybug and returned to a white butterfly.

"Bye-bye, little butterfly," Adrien said as it fluttered away.

She eyed him. "Hey, that's my line." Adrien snickered in return and she rolled her eyes.

"Okay, now let's return the city back to normal," he said.

Marinette nodded, but then realized something. "I never used my Lucky Charm. So, I think I can't."

"Can't you use your yoyo?"

"Maybe," she said. She threw it in the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

And it worked. Ladybugs and pink glitter erupted from the yoyo and returned Paris back to its original state. Adrien and Ladybug's outfits returned back to normal too.

"Ahw," Adrien whined. "I'm gonna miss your outfit. You looked hot in that."

"Well, if you want me to, I could design something similar myself."

His eyes twinkled. "Yes, please!"

She laughed. "The things I do for you."

"Ladybug!" An all too familiar voice said. It was Chloé. "You saved my Adrien." She embraced him.

"Yes, I did," she said, a bit confused.

"And where have you been, mister?" Chloé said scoldingly. "You could have gotten hurt. You're lucky Ladybug was there."

"But Chloé I-"

He stopped himself and looked at Marinette who glanced at him in return. Did she not remember anything? Was her mind wiped because of the Akuma? Did that mean no one remembered?

"Chloé, have you seen Chat Noir?" Adrien asked.

"No," she answered. "Didn't see him. But who likes that alley cat anyway? Come, let's take a photo." She grabbed Adrien and Ladybug and pushed them close. "Say cheese."

The couple glanced at each other quickly and sighed in relief. She didn't remember. That probably meant nobody remembered. Their secret was still safe.

After the photo they returned to the school. Alya and Nino waited for them there. They confirmed their suspicions. They didn't remember what happened either. So that meant nobody remembers except for Adrien and Marinette. Tikki and Plagg explained that the after effects of the Akuma didn't always work on them because of their Miraculous, it protected them. Not all the time though. It depended on how strong the after effects were.

"So, everything is good now, right?" Nino said after they got explained everything.

"Hopefully," Marinette said.

"Nobody remembers and you got the ring back. Sounds like a happy ending to me," Alya commented.

"Yeah, you're right," Marinette spoke softly.

Adrien heard the unsatisfied tone in her voice. "Mari, I'm so sorry for everything. I should have never given that guy my Miraculous."

"It's okay. I… I understand."

"You do?"

"Yes. If something happens to the person you care about, you'll do anything to protect them. So yeah, I get it."

Adrien smiled at her.

"Also… I have the same thing too. I worry constantly about you. I want to protect you any way I can, but that's hard when you're constantly taking hits for me. That's why I got so angry. I'm sorry, kitty."

"Ahw, Marinette." He grabbed her head and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. "I should have thought about that. Of course, you want to protect me too. That's why we're a team."

Plagg groaned and Tikki gave him a quick slap.

"Behave yourself," Tikki scolded.

"Unnecessary." He rubbed the spot.

"What's with the whiney guy?" Nino questioned.

"Only that he can't stand Marinette and I being all 'kissy kissy' around each other," Adrien explained and rolled his eyes.

"Really?" Marinette said and aimed her gaze at Plagg.

Plagg shrugged and looked the other way. "It just grosses me out."

Marinette slitted her eyes and smiled, knowing what this was really about. "Okay, we'll pay attention to that then."

"But Marinette, if I want to kiss you I can ju-"

Said girl put her hand to her boyfriend's face to shush him. "On one condition…"

Plagg kept looking at her, awaiting her answer.

"You tell him the real reason why you don't want it." She gave him a knowing look and pointed to Adrien.

Plagg gave her a playful smile in return. "Never."

"Okay, I'm missing something here," Adrien said utterly confused.

"I think we all are," Alya said just as confused.

Adrien leaned forward to come closer to his Kwami. "Wait, so there is a another reason why you don't like Marinette and I together?"

"If you don't tell him, I will," Marinette dared.

Plagg grumbled in return.

"Plagg, just say it. I told Marinette and she was very understanding with me." Tikki tried to calm him down.

Plagg wanted to say something, but was obviously embarrassed. He shot away and into Adrien's pocket.

"Plagg? Plagg! Get back here!" Adrien tried to pull him out of his shirt.

"No!"

He eventually gave up. "What's going on? What's up with Plagg? What does he need to tell me? What did you tell Marinette, Tikki? What am I missing?"

Tikki went to sit on Adrien's head. "Calm down, one question at time."

He looked at Marinette. "Explain."

"I don't know how to say it," she admitted.

"Maybe it's better then if you would keep your mouth shut," came from Adrien's inside pocket.

"Oh, Plagg," Tikki said with a sigh and she shook her head. "Always so dramatic yet he has a problem with talking about emotions."

"Emotions?" Nino questioned with a raised brow.

Tikki floated in front of Adrien. "You need to see us Kwamis as some sort of pet. We need attention and care. Of course, we're less dependent than your average pet. We're content with being in your bag or pocket all day until you need us to fight, but we still need the contact."

An annoyed grumble from Adrien's shirt.

Marinette finished Tikki's story. "He's just afraid that, now that we're in a relationship, you'll neglect him."

"What? I would never-"

"Not on purpose," Tikki said. "But you're bond with Marinette is pretty strong, obviously because you're partners. One day, hopefully, Hawk Moth will be gone and Paris will be safe. You won't need us that much anymore. And when you're older and have a family, there are other things on your mind. He'll be the guy who is just in your pocket when you need him."

"Of course, that can be avoided. If you would just tell him that like Tikki did with me," Marinette said to Plagg, still inside Adrien's shirt.

Adrien nodded in understanding. He looked down at his shirt. "Plagg?"

A tiny movement and he came out of his hiding spot, a tiny bit though. You could only see his eyes and ears.

"You really need to tell me more of this kind of stuff, buddy. You know you can tell me everything. Just because I complain about your cheese doesn't mean I'll complain when you've got an actual problem."

Plagg looked down before he nodded. He snuggled back into the shirt.

Adrien smiled. He then yawned. "Woah, I'm tired."

"Me too," Marinette said. "And it's not even dinner time yet. Tikki, do we really need to go see that guy today?"

Tikki considered that. "Hm, I suppose tomorrow would be okay too. You probably are too tired to listen to him ramble about you and your past anyway." She laughed.

"It was a long day," Alya spoke and she put a hand on Marinette's shoulder. "I think we all need the rest."

The group couldn't disagree with that and they parted, all wanting to go to bed as fast as they could.

oOo

His room was covered in darkness. It took a lot of effort to make sure no light came in the room, it was only some time passed dinner time after all, but he managed to make it look like it was the middle of the night. He was snuggled up in the blankets and pulled them over his head.

He checked his other pillow, only to see that Plagg wasn't sleeping there.

"Plagg?" Adrien asked softly.

Almost like he summoned him, Plagg casually phased through his window. Adrien sat up straight.

"There you are. Have you been outside?"

"Oh, I thought you were asleep."

"Well, I wasn't. Where were you?"

"Just visiting Tikki."

"What? We could have gone together, I want to see Marinette too."

"We both know that wouldn't be good idea. You know, with-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know."

Plagg flopped down on the pillow. "Besides, she was asleep anyway. And you're tired too, just get some rest."

"But-"

His door clicked open. Plagg hid under the bed and Adrien dropped down, pretending to be asleep.

His father entered the room. "Adrien?"

Adrien closed his eyes shut. The light of the hallway came in the room and it would burn his eyes if he would open them.

"I know you're awake, I heard sounds."

Adrien sighed and turned around so he could face his father. "What's the matter?"

"How are you feeling?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you're already in bed this early. Are you feeling unwell?"

"I'm fine, father. I'm just tired. Can I go to sleep now?"

Gabriel looked at the ground in thought and consideration before looking back at Adrien again.

"Come with me." He left the room and left the door open.

Adrien was confused, but still got out of bed anyway. "Stay here," he whispered to Plagg and went to the door.

His father was waiting outside the room.

Adrien squeezed his eyes, adjusting to the light. "What's this all about?"

"Just follow me."

"…Okay." He followed his father down the stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, you thought? Hahaha, that's so funny, you actually thought everything was revealed when you were reading this chapter, didn't you? Well sike, keeping that for later. This is just to give you a little taste of the drama, but trust me, I have something planned.
> 
> Okay, here it goes. The Volpina episode never happened in my story, hence why the book was still in the safe. As you all know, the Peacock Miraculous wasn't seen by Plagg in the episode (the little idiot), so to make it a bit more believable that Tikki didn't see it either, I have a different plan with it.
> 
> The Peacock Miraculous was never in the safe to begin with.
> 
> I haven't read any story yet where the writer goes in the direction where I want to go, so it's my job to do that. Don't worry, the Miraculous is 'safely' with someone (can you guess who?)


	9. Sacre Coeur

"Where are we going?" He asked.

His eyes still not really adjusted to the light, he followed his father down the stairs.

Gabriel kept walking and didn't answer.

"Father?"

Still no reaction. He had the feeling his father was walking faster. How could this man walk so quick, but still so graciously with his hands behind his back?

Adrien had enough of his behavior. He stopped midstep and waited for his father to notice. He did and he turned around with a raised brow.

"I told you to come with me."

"I'm exhausted. I just want to go to sleep and you're not telling me anything. What are we going to do?" His tone was demanding.

Gabriel's face got irritated. Very different from its normal unemotional state. He walked to Adrien and grabbed him by the wrist.

"Hey! What the- dad!"

He didn't listen and kept pulling him to the place he desired to be, not speaking to Adrien anymore.

His whole body was numb of shock. His feet kept walking at his father's pace, who was still holding his wrist, but he couldn't feel the ground beneath him. He didn't even see where he was going, his gaze lingered on his father.

He vaguely heard a door click and noticed a different environment. They weren't in the hallway anymore, but in a room. Only when his father let go of his arm he registered that he was standing in front of his mom's painting

He gulped. There would only be one reason why they would be standing here. His father had also sounded angry. He knew. His father knew he had the book.

One question was still on Adrien's mind though, ever since they found said book. Why did his father have it in the first place?

"Seeing your expression you know why we're here," his father said.

Adrien didn't dare to say a word or look at his dad. He kept staring at the painting.

A long sigh. "What is this, Adrien?"

He saw his father point to the painting. "M-mom's painting."

"Very good." His tone was mocking. Adrien resisted the urge to growl. "And now-" He opened the painting, showing the safe. "-what do you see?"

He lowered his head and spoke softer. "A safe."

Gabriel nodded and opened the safe. "Now, I don't think I have to explain that this is an open safe, but I do want you to explain something to me."

When he didn't finish, Adrien looked up. The way his father looked at him, it was intimidating. The way his father looked at other designers and colleagues to show he was better than them.

"I believe something is missing." He pointed to an empty spot and smiled slightly. "I also believe it's time you return that to me, right?"

Now he growled. He couldn't hold it back anymore. He loathed his father right now. He was trying to intimidate him, make him feel like a helpless kitten, just to get what he wanted. He always hated when he acted like that towards others, but now he used that same tone on him. Speaking very clearly, loud yet soft, putting emphasis on the right words, eyes burning holes in his body. He had seen it a million times and yet, now that it was used on him, he never realized how much he hated that tone.

"Now, now, no need to growl. We aren't cats now, are we?" A short laugh. To Adrien, the laugh sounded evil.

He could have used any word, but he used the word cat. And he said it slowly, deliberately to make sure Adrien could hear it. Adrien's eyes became wider and wider in realization. They stung and were dry, screaming for Adrien to blink but he couldn't. He didn't even think it was possible for eyes to become this big. His father was trying to tell him something, something he didn't want to hear.

His mind was screaming. He knows you're Chat Noir. He knows you're Chat Noir. HE KNOWS YOU'RE CHAT NOIR.

His first instinct was to step back and put his ring hand against his chest as he clasped his other hand over it protectively.

He wanted to run away as far as he could. Away from this madness. This wasn't happening. This was not happening.

Gabriel put a hand on Adrien's shoulder, making sure he would stay put. Couldn't have him run away now. "No need to be afraid," he said with a smile.

And that smile was feigned. Adrien could see right through it, only because he used that same smile himself. When he was modeling or when he was sad and didn't want people to notice.

He hoped his father couldn't see the fright in his eyes. His father may be strict, a jerk sometimes and he could raise his voice when needed, but this was the first time in his entire life that Adrien was actually afraid of his father. Scared. Terrified.

He told him not to be afraid, but the look in his eyes told Adrien differently.

"W-what are you gonna do?"

Another smile, this one sort of sincere. "What do you think is the right option?"

To his surprise, and later regret, he crossed his arms and scoffed. "Uh, maybe let me go back to sleep and pretend this isn't happening? I'm probably dreaming, right?"

The big eyes returned. Honestly, how could he act so lighthearted and sassy in a situation like this? Maybe his Chat Noir side was rubbing off more on him than he thought.

His father laughed, loudly. Like he told a wonderful joke.

"You amuse me, son. I'm quite ashamed of myself. How did I not see this sooner? Though, I did have my suspicions for some time."

"…suspicions? H-how did you figure it out?" He didn't like how his father was acting right now. He was unpredictable, changing emotions like he was playing hopscotch.

The dark glare returned. "I have my ways."

His father turned around and closed the safe. He moved lower and pulled, opening a bigger door, the size of the full painting.

He put out an arm. "After you."

Even though he was in some way still afraid (what do you expect? An unpredictable father and dark stairs leading to a mystery attic), but all that fright was replaced with curiosity.

One step. Two step. Slowly, steadily. He turned around quickly to see if his father didn't close the door behind him and lock him up. After all, he wasn't surprised by anything anymore. When no such thing happened, he ran. The safe was surprising and mysterious enough, the contents raising a lot of questions, but a secret attic of some sort?

Now things were getting interesting, and he wanted to find out what was waiting for him once he reached the top of the stairs. His curiosity almost made him forget the situation he was in, almost.

He waited for his father once he reached the top. It was still pitch black, but he heard something. Something like… fluttering? Yes. Like a millions bugs were in the same room as him. The thought was creepy.

He heard footsteps and saw his father was standing behind him.

Good, now turn on the lights and tell me what's going on, darn it!

Almost like he could hear his thoughts, the lights were turned on.

Butterflies. White butterflies everywhere. Floating everywhere, one landing on his shoulder. It was a pretty sight, surely, but the afterthought wasn't that pretty.

He wanted to scream, to cry, to run, but all he could do was stare blankly. Was he really such a bad guy? What did he ever do to deserve this?

He dropped to his knees and pulled his hair. He felt tears heating up. Normally he would try to restrain himself, but he didn't care anymore. He was too distressed to keep himself collected.

He didn't want to say it out loud, couldn't say it out loud. It would hurt too much. Saying it meant it was true, and he didn't want to believe it was true.

He noticed his father walking past him to a large window. "You're probably wondering why I'm showing you this."

Adrien nodded, which was silly because his father couldn't see. He was with his back to him, staring out of the window.

He had to speak. "B-be-because you want my r-ring?" His voice was raspy and he could hear he was officially crying now.

Before Gabriel could speak, a ring was thrown at his feet. He picked it up.

"Take it! That's what your want, right? My ring? To have full power?! Keep it, be my guest! I don't want it anymore!" He was sitting straighter now, still on his knees and screaming as hard as his sore throat allowed him to.

Saying he didn't want it anymore was a lie. Chat Noir meant freedom, a thing he desperately wanted. In his moment of weakness and denial, he threw the ring away in anger. He was so stupid! He basically gave away his Miraculous for a second time today! To his father. No, to Hawk Moth.

The words were still unbelievable, even in his own mind.

If Marinette was here, there was no place he could hide from her wrath.

Marinette.

How could he ever explain something like this to her? If he would tell, would she think he was evil too and not trust him anymore? Would she break up with him, stop being his friend, stop being his partner? He didn't want any of that to happen, ever.

Gabriel clenched the ring in his hand tightly. A feeling of power flushed through him. He closed his eyes and sighed, turning around and standing in front of Adrien. He put his hand in front of his son. With the ring.

Seeing the ring in front of him, ready to take, was tempting and something he should really do. But why was it so easy? Why was his father giving the ring back now that he had it?

"You want me to take it?" Letting the new information sink in had made his voice steady again. He wasn't crying anymore, but his eyes were still red.

"It's your ring, right?"

He wanted to take it without question, but hesitated. His hand floated above the ring and he cocked a brow. "What do you want me to do in return?"

There had to be a catch, right? It couldn't be this easy.

His father laughed again, shortly. It was a sound that sent shivers down Adrien's spine. "Smart boy. Of course, I won't give you your Miraculous if you don't want to do something for me."

"Which is?" He had his courage back, actually able to look him in the eyes now.

"I want my book back, but that's not of importance right now."

He waited. Wanted him to finish.

"I want Ladybug's earrings."

There it was. It shouldn't have been a surprise to Adrien, but he still deflated and sunk a little lower on his knees.

He closed his eyes in defeat. "You know I can't do that," he spoke softly.

"And you think you have a say in this?"

It would take him only one second. Snatch the ring from the hand, go back to his room and use Plagg to transform. Then he would go to Marinette and explain everything. After probably crying in her arms for some time.

They would figure this out together.

Right before he wanted to put his plan into action, his father raised his hand with the ring and held it out of Adrien's grasp.

Adrien sighed, annoyed. "I can't betray her, ever. If I ever hurt M'Lady I-"

Oh no. Why didn't he just say Ladybug? Why did he have to use that term of endearment? You just wouldn't say that anyone and his father knew Marinette was his girlfriend. Surely, he would know that it was her and he couldn't let that happen.

"I-I mean, I could never hurt her. Ladybug. My partner, Ladybug. The person I fight crime with." Hopefully he saved himself.

Gabriel pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Honestly, Adrien. How did you ever make it this far?"

Adrien raised both brows. Was he- was his father insulting him?

"Anyway, you don't have to hide your feelings towards her. I know it's Marinette."

"…What? How?"

"I thought you were such a smart boy? I make those people, Adrien. Of course I'm not affected by their power. I can see through their eyes and I know everything that happened in the school today. I have to say, it was brave to fight without your powers, but foolish too. You're reckless. Seeing you two fight together without your Miraculous was the last bit I needed for the puzzle. You handing over your ring was only extra confirmation."

"I'm begging you, please, don't hurt her." He could feel his eyes watering again.

"That's all on you, son. Give me her earrings yourself and she'll be fine. If you refuse, I'll get them myself."

Not that he was considering it, but he had to make it look like he did. "And if I do, with my ring, I get to keep it, right?"

He showed an amused grin. "I can't have what I desire without the two Miraculous, now can I?"

"But I still get my ring back now, right? Ladyb- Marinette would suspect something if I didn't have it. My Kwami would too."

"Of course, those were my same thoughts. But I do need it back afterwards. Should you, for some strange reason, have different plans yourself-"

"I'll protect Marinette any way I can. A-and she can take care of herself too!"

"If you would let me finish then you would know I never intend to hurt her, for now."

No response and Adrien waited for his father to continue.

"As I was saying, you being loyal to me can give you a reward."

"Money won't cut it," he spoke low, darkly.

"I wasn't talking about money." He sighed again, probably irritated by being interrupted all the time.

"What could you possibly have that I want?"

He bowed down so he could meet Adrien's gaze. "I know where your mother is."

He couldn't breathe. For some reason he always believed his mother was still alive, even though people claimed she wasn't. He held hope. He wished and prayed for her to be alive, and for her to come back, but now he wished he could take it all back. This is not what he wanted. He felt like he needed to choose between the two women he loved most and he couldn't do that.

"T-that's low."

He didn't react other than a wicked grin. Once again, he opened his hand in front of Adrien, showing the ring. "Do we have a deal?"

Without thinking he grabbed it and put it around his finger. He sighed in relief. Almost losing his ring two times today was too much for him.

"You have one day, Adrien. I want her earrings. Tomorrow and only tomorrow you will have the time. Shouldn't be too hard, considering you see her every day. Show any kind of betrayal and there will be consequences. For you, for Marinette and your mother."

He didn't care if his father would hurt him. But he did care about Marinette, even though he knew she could take care of herself. He always described her as a tough cookie. Sweet and strong, but sadly, still breakable.

But his mother.

Wherever she was, whatever she was doing, he didn't want anything to happen to her.

His father could be bluffing, maybe she wasn't alive after all and he was just toying with his emotions. But could he risk it? The thought of her hurting, being locked away somewhere for some reason. It hurt his heart.

It also hurt to let out these words. "Yes, father."

"You're dismissed. Now, get some rest. And don't you dare tell your Kwami anything about this."

He nodded as he descended from the stairs. It was odd. Walking these steps was new for him, but there was some familiarity and he knew that he probably had to get used to walking these steps.

Luckily it was still dark, so Plagg couldn't see his eyes. They were most probably still red. Without saying anything he plopped down and buried himself in every part of his bed, using all the blankets and pillows he could find.

He wanted to go away. To hide. It was all so unreal, but it still happened not even a few minutes ago.

He cried again, soft sobs and whimpers, muffled by his pillow. He hoped Plagg didn't hear, but he also hoped he did. Seeing Adrien distressed should ring alarm bells, right?

And it did. Plagg was staring incredulously at Adrien, not sure of what to do. Adrien had never cried before in his presence. But it wasn't strange. Because he knew. He knew what happened.

Being the nosy guy he is, Plagg followed Adrien and had seen everything happening. It took him a lot of restraint to not attack his father's face during the act, but he needed to have patience. He knew Adrien far too well, so he wasn't worried when Adrien said yes to his father's plan.

Because he knew Adrien had a plan of his own. He wasn't sure yet what kind of plan, but they would work it out.

For now, he could only comfort him. He rested on his cheek to nuzzle it.

Adrien gasped before he relaxed again and closed his eyes. "You know, don't you?"

"It's okay," he whispered back. "It'll be okay."

The soft purring of Plagg was quite soothing, but it didn't stop him from crying some more before he fell asleep, completely drained and exhausted both mentally and physically.

oOo

Marinette was sitting on the stairs in front of the school, drawing in her sketchbook. For once, she was really early. She slept straight after dinner, only to be interrupted some time later, but she was well rested this morning either way. Being done with everything at seven thirty, she decided to go for a walk.

Not only would she make the teacher happy with being on time for once, but hopefully she could avoid any reporters waiting for her.

After walking for a bit, she ended up back at the school.

Feeling inspired by her city, she started drawing. When she was all out of ideas again she doodled on a blank page.

Tikki, sitting on her shoulder, giggled. "Girl, you've got it bad."

"Huh?" Marinette looked up from her doodling.

Tikki gave her a knowing stare and pointed to her sketchbook.

She drew Chat Noir in a heroic pose, holding a rose and winking. The rest of the page was filled with hearts and flowers. She wasn't even aware of what she was drawing.

She blushed and tried to hide her face. Tikki noticed the girl's embarrassment and hugged her cheek. "I'm not saying it's a bad thing! I think you guys are adorable together."

Marinette smiled and looked down at the necklace she was wearing. Sometimes she would forget it was there, but when she looked in the mirror or looked down she was reminded that he gave that to her. "He's just very sweet. And charming. He's such a reliable partner and very kind."

"Not to forget, not a bad looker either," Tikki pointed out.

Marinette laughed. "That's my boyfriend you're talking about. Get your own. Plagg's on the market, right?" She smiled teasingly.

Tikki stuck out her tongue in disgust. "Ugh, no way that would ever happen."

Marinette giggled at Tikki's reaction. "Can Kwamis even be in relationships?"

"They can, but it's different from humans. We show affection in a different way."

"But you do cuddle. I've seen you two do that. It's so cute!"

Tikki looked away. "That's indeed one of the things we have in common if you speak about showing affection."

"So, that means you and Plagg do show affection toward each other." She wiggled her eyebrows.

Tikki's eyes turned big and she shook her head frantically. "W-we're two halves of a whole and basically soulmates, but he would wish we would be 'something'."

For some reason Marinette saw Tikki become more red, if that was even possible, but she would question that later. She closed her book and spread herself out over the stairs, which was actually more comfortable than she expected.

"You know, I love Adrien so much. I just… wish he would tell me more."

"Is this about what Plagg told us yesterday?"

"Yes!" She sat up straight again. "To be honest, it kind of hurt to hear it from Plagg and not form Adrien himself. I knew something was up, he acted all weird, but I just couldn't put my finger on it. He knows he can trust me, and he knows he can tell me anything."

"Don't beat yourself up, Marinette. Adrien is a sensitive soul, he was probably just embarrassed. Wouldn't you be?"

"I know. Actually, I'm still wondering why his Miraculous affects him so much while I don't have any problems whatsoever."

"It differs per person. You're just not that susceptible."

"What about other Ladybugs? What were their effects?"

"That's also different depending on the person. It could be that they were easily cold or they were very fond of nature."

She put a finger to her chin in thought. "Hm, Alya did point out that I'm more peppy now that it's spring. Could that be because of my Ladybug side?"

Tikki sat on Marinette's knee. "It's highly likely. I believe every Miraculous holder is affected by their Miraculous in some way, whether that's in behavior or physical."

Marinette cocked a brow. "Physical?"

"Oh, you know, growing… tails or… wings and stuff…" Tikki spoke softer with every word.

A short pause.

"WHAT!? That can happen!?" Marinette's exclamation sent Tikki flying high in the sky.

She floated back in front of Marinette's face. "Don't worry, it has only happened once."

"But that still means it could happen to me! I don't want to grow wings!"

"Calm down, Marinette. I'm sure nothing will happen." She grabbed one string of her dark hair to comfort her. "You said it yourself, you're not that much affected by your Miraculous, so I highly doubt that you'll grow wings of some sort."

That actually soothed her. She sighed in relief.

"Besides, look on the bright side. If you grow wings, we'll be able to fly around Paris together without having to transform!"

The thought was sweet, but Marinette was pretty freaked out by the thought of having wings stick out of her back.

"You better take that back, having a pair of wings would be the last thing I want." She still petted her head with a smile.

She stood up and gathered her schoolbag and sketchbook.

"Where are you going?" Tikki asked.

"I'm gonna sit inside and wait for class to start. The seats there are much more comfortable than these stairs." She stretched her back before entering the school.

Tikki followed her close behind, floating near her head. Marinette had smuggled some of her dad's cookies to school, so Tikki was content with staying in her bag once they were in the classroom in case someone walked in.

She didn't hear the other person entering the classroom.

Of course she was sitting there. Out of all people, she had to be early too. Adrien wanted to get out of the house as fast as he could this morning. He told Nathalie that he would walk to school and left early, hoping to be alone with his thoughts for a moment.

Of course someone else had to be early too today. And that person had to be the last person he wanted to see.

Well no, he always wanted to see her. He just didn't how to look at her. Speak to her.

Marinette looked up from her drawing and noticed Adrien had arrived. She was adding details to her Chat Noir doodle. She had already started it, might as well make it look pretty.

"Hey, Adrien!" She dropped her pencil and walked to him, giving him a quick kiss and hug. When she pulled away and rested her hands on his shoulders, she noticed his eyes were watery.

He was so happy to see her. To hold her. She smiled sympathetically at him with a raised brow. She knew something was up with him from one look and he loved her for that.

"Everything okay?" She asked.

He pulled her back into their embrace, his arms completely encircling her around her waist. She shortly paused by surprise, before moving her arms around his neck.

Taking in her warmth and scent, he closed his eyes with a content smile. The first time he smiled ever since yesterday. He buried his face in her neck and shoulder area.

"Adrien?"

"Hm-hm," he hummed, not opening his eyes. "Just a sec. Kitty needs cuddles."

She laughed at that and held him a little bit tighter in response.

When he opened his eyes again he saw her sketchbook lying open on the table. It was upside down for him, but the drawing was clear to see. It was a drawing of him. All the hearts and flowers around it made his heart flutter.

"Is that me?" He asked softly.

She turned her head around slowly. "Oh, that. Yeah, I was just, you know, thinking about you. And then that happened. I didn't even know what I was drawing until Tikki pointed it out. I-"

Whatever she was going to say was halted when Adrien lifted her off her feet, earning a squeak and giggle from her. He seated her on the table and cupped her face.

"How are you so adorable?"

She smiled and rested her forehead against his. She played with the collar of his shirt, eventually moving to one button to circle her finger around it. They were in comfortable silence for a while until Marinette spoke again.

"So, what's up? You seem a bit… upset."

Oh, you know. My father turns out to be our arch nemesis who wants me to do his dirty work by stealing your earrings and he threatens to hurt me, you and my mother who is apparently still alive if I don't listen to him.

In retrospect, he should have just said it. Just blurt everything out and fix this mess together. His father wasn't here, right? He couldn't know or see what he was up to.

But he was afraid. So terribly afraid that his father did know what he was up to. One word to Marinette and it could be over. He wanted to tell her everything, but he couldn't.

Of course, his father probably didn't follow his every movement, but Marinette would probably want to take action immediately, and what could happen after that… he didn't want to find out.

But something else clicked in his mind. A plan.

He couldn't tell her directly, but he needed to prepare her for the situation.

He didn't like to manipulate his lady, but he needed to tell her in some way.

"I'm just glad you're here," he said and he stroked her cheek with his thumb.

She put his hands down. "Adrien."

Did she sound annoyed? She definitely sounded annoyed.

"I'm not buying it. You're upset and you're not telling me what's going on. I don't want to push you or anything or be a nosy girlfriend, but I'm just worried. You really can tell me everything, I won't judge you for it. You know that."

He lowered his head and sighed. He grabbed her hands on her lap and squeezed them. "I know. I just… can't. But don't worry. I'll try to fix everything."

She wasn't sure what he meant by 'fix', but she let it be and squeezed his hands in return with a smile. "Okay."

He gave her a few lingering kisses before he let go of her and said he was going to the bathroom. Marinette went back to her seat.

Miss Bustier entered the classroom, not too long after that other students came as well. Alya sat beside Marinette and put down her bag.

Marinette was smart enough to put her sketchbook away when others came in the classroom, not wanting to raise questions from classmates and not feeling like Alya and Nino teasing her about it.

Roll call started.

"Agreste, Adrien."

"He's in the bathroom, Miss," Marinette answered.

She nodded at that and went on with the list.

Class started soon after that, but Marinette didn't pay attention. Her gaze focused on the empty seat in front of her.

Where was Adrien?

He said he went to the bathroom, but he never returned. It had been at least thirty minutes now.

She looked at Alya who was also looking at the empty spot. When she looked at Marinette with questioning eyes, Marinette responded with a shrug and a shake of her head.

He seemed troubled. Something was wrong. Where could he be? He said he wanted to 'fix' it… did he mean now? Is he ditching school?

She had to know. She grabbed her phone and quickly typed a message for Adrien. Before Miss Bustier could notice she already put it back in her pocket.

Marinette: Where are u?

After a few minutes she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. A text. She quickly checked who it was from, holding the phone only halfway out of her pocket to not get caught.

Unsurprisingly it was from Adrien.

Adrien: Hey LoveBug <3 I'm fine, don't worry about me. Text you later M'Lady. See you after school! XoXo

He wasn't fine, Marinette knew that for sure now. He wouldn't skip school without a good reason. And all the x's, nicknames and hearts, it was too much. He never texted like that, he just wanted to sound peppy for her, so she wouldn't suspect anything. It had the opposite effect on her, she was really worried now.

And on top of that, he still didn't answer her question.

With a sigh she put her phone back in her pocket. She would see him again when they would go to the Great Guardian after school. The book was safely in her locker until she would retrieve it when they would leave.

Not only would she be missing Adrien today, like she always does when he isn't in class, but now she would constantly be worrying about where he was too.

Today was going to be a long day.

oOo

After sending Marinette his reply, Adrien put his phone away and walked down the street, Plagg huddled up in the collar of his shirt instead of his inside pocket, so they could easily talk to each other.

He really hoped Marinette got the secret hint from his text. Any other person might see it as a clingy boyfriend text, but Marinette knew better: he never texted like that.

"I can't believe you're skipping class! I'm proud of you," the black Kwami laughed with pride in his neck.

Adrien sighed in annoyance. "Shut it, Plagg. I don't do it for fun, you know that."

"Still, it was about time you rebelled. Anywho, what's the plan? Don't you think your dad will notice that you're not at school?"

"Of course he will, which is exactly what I want."

"You want him to know what you're up to?"

"Yes."

There was a short silence between the two. Plagg wasn't really sure what Adrien meant at all.

"I don't get it, kid. You're confusing me."

"No matter, everything is going according to plan anyway," he said with a smug grin. "At some point my father will know I'm not at school and then he'll call me. That's were step three begins."

"Step three? What were the other two steps?"

Adrien laughed and petted his Kwami. "Just have patience, buddy. Everything will work out, I hope."

Plagg eyed him warily. "Hm, okay. So, what are you gonna do now? Walk around? Wait for him to call you?"

"No, no, we're visiting someone."

"Visiting… you wanna visit Master Fu? Now? I thought you and our girl would be doing that after school."

"We will, but I just need to talk to him privately first."

Adrien repeated what Plagg said one more time in his head.

"...Did you just call Marinette our girl?"

"N-no." He buried himself more in Adrien's collar.

"You totally did! You like her, don't you?" He was poking Plagg to get the answer out of him.

"She's a good Ladybug, that's all. J-just let me lead the way."

Adrien laughed and shook his head.

For the next couple of minutes Adrien followed Plagg's instructions, crossing streets and going through creepy alleyways. Adrien questioned if this was the fastest route. Maybe it was payback for their previous conversation. He didn't complain though when a little store eventually came in sight.

"There," Plagg said and pointed to said store. "That's where he is."

"He owns a store?"

"Yes. And on top of that you can get amazing treatments. They're heavenly."

"Don't tell me that's what you did yesterday."

"That's not what we did yesterday," he responded too quickly and with an obvious grin.

Adrien rolled his eyes, knowing that his Kwami meant the opposite with his statement. He wanted to get to the other side of the street to enter the store, but stopped when a voice called out to him.

"Hey, you!"

An officer came in front of Adrien, it was someone he didn't recognize. The man seemed quite stern and not friendly. He definitely wasn't what people called a 'good cop' in his eyes.

"Yes, Sir?"

The man stood tall in front of him with his arms crossed. "Aren't you supposed to be at school?"

"Oh, uhm, no actually. M-my school has a day off. So I'm allowed to roam free." He chuckled awkwardly to lighten the mood between them. He hated lying to an authority figure, but being send back to school wasn't part of his plan.

"And to what school do you go to, if I may ask?"

"Oh, of course. It's…" He looked around the area, searching for ideas to come up with a name. His eyes wandered to the Seine flowing under the bridge nearby. "Paris' School de la Seine…?"

He mentally winced. He couldn't even believe himself.

The man raised an eyebrow. He turned his head around to follow Adrien's gaze and noticed the river behind him. He reverted his gaze back to Adrien and looked more stern now. "Try again, young man."

Adrien sighed, defeated. "Collège Françoise Dupont, Sir."

"That seems more familiar. I guess you're not supposed to be away from school? We better call them then, right?"

It would probably work in his favor if the man called the school, they would call his dad, but it was still too soon. And when that happened he couldn't wander off anymore. He would need to stay at the school and that didn't fit in his plan at all.

He hated himself for it, but there was only one way out.

"Yes, Sir."

"All right, follow me."

Nope.

Adrien ran off in the other direction, running as fast as he could. He was going to run through a few alleys until the officer was off his tail. He would then enter the store and stay there, hopefully safe for a while.

The officer yelled for him a few times and Adrien heard him following him.

The adrenaline coursing through his body made his heart pound loudly in his chest, it being the only sound he could hear besides his heavy breathing.

And Plagg's cackling in his neck.

"You're running away from a cop?! This is the best day ever!"

"Plagg! Not the time," he said in between pants.

When the store was back in his vision and the officer didn't seem to be near, he entered it quickly and closed the door behind him.

He took a deep breath to calm down his body and slid down the door to the ground.

"You seemed in quite a pickle there. Are you all right?"

Adrien looked up to the voice, seeing a short Chinese man looking down at him. He quickly glanced at Plagg in his collar who nodded in return.

"Don't worry about me, Sir. This cat can handle worse."

The man smiled. "That's good to hear. Now, would you like some tea?"

Adrien stood up and nodded. "I'd love to."

oOo

Even if she tried, Marinette couldn't focus on her lunch. Alya and Nino were in deep conversation with each other, so they didn't notice her lack of participation in the chat.

There were two things on her mind.

Where in the world was Adrien?

And why had he taken the book?

When she grabbed her lunch from her locker, she noticed the book was missing. She wasn't too worried. Plagg could easily open her locker and Adrien was the only one who knew about the book being in her locker, except for Alya and Nino.

Still, she wanted to know what he was doing. She called him at her locker, but he didn't answer. His phone went to voicemail so quick, she knew he pushed her call away.

That meant he was either avoiding her or too busy doing something.

Her inner monologue almost made her unable to hear her phone ringing.

She grabbed her phone from her bag so quickly she almost dropped it. She thought it was Adrien, hoped it was him, but it was another Agreste.

His father was calling her. She didn't have his number, but she recognized it from Adrien's phone.

Alya and Nino stopped talking to look at her, wondering who was calling her.

"It's Adrien's dad."

Their eyes widened at the same time.

Marinette answered the phone and put it hesitantly to her ear.

Why would his father call me? Did something bad happen to Adrien? Is he hurt? Please, let him be okay!

"Hello?"

"Good day, Miss Dupain-Cheng. How are you today?"

His soft tone and nice question took her by surprise. "I'm fine, Sir. Thank you. How are you?"

"I'm doing well."

There was a short silence, Marinette could feel the awkwardness. "Uhm, not to sound rude, but why are you calling me?"

"It's about Adrien."

"Oh. Is-is he okay?"

"He seems upset. He says he wants to see you. I came to understand that you have lunch period now?"

"Yes, Sir. I still have about half an hour left."

"I see. Well, like I said, Adrien wants to see you. There is a car outside the school right as we speak, ready to chauffeur you to our house."

She waited a few seconds before responding. "All right, I'll be there."

He hung up without even responding.

"That was weird," Marinette said, putting her phone back in her bag.

"What?" Both Alya and Nino asked.

"Mr. Agreste wants me to come. He says Adrien is upset and wants to see me."

"So, the dude is ditching class and just chilling at home?" Alya asked. "What is he even upset about?"

Marinette had a slight idea about that. But also not. The catlike tendencies he got from his Miraculous, he was embarrassed about that. But this morning it was like he was on the verge of tears.

No, something else was going on.

And she couldn't help but wonder if it had something to do with his father.

Well, one way to find out.

"Are you going?" Nino asked.

"Of course," Marinette responded, standing up from where she was seated. "I want to see Adrien. I want to know what's going on."

"Good luck," Alya said. Nino gave a thumbs up.

Marinette nodded at that. She grabbed her bag and headed outside. The car was indeed already waiting for her, the driver standing by the door. Adrien always referred to him as the Gorilla, she could see the resemblance.

"H-hello." She waved lamely.

He nodded at her and opened the door. Thanking him and taking her seat, she clicked the seatbelt and waited for the car to drive.

oOo

Adrien closed the door from the store behind him. He left the book with Master Fu, it was no use to take it with him only to bring it back later when he would return with Marinette.

He never came for a lecture, he would save that for later. Right now he just needed to ask some questions and put his plan into further action.

For now, things were going well. Hopefully he made Marinette worried enough (he still felt bad about it) with his text. Now it was just waiting for his dad's call.

He just had to wait. Any second now.

As if on cue, his phone rang, showing his dad's name.

Adrien smirked to himself. His father took the bait. Bless the GPS in his phone this time, his father could see he was not at school anymore.

Adrien answered the phone jovially. "Hello!"

"What do you think you're doing?" His response was real quick and emotionless.

Adrien tried to play dumb to anger his father some more. "What do you mean?"

"Enough with this, Adrien." The sternness finally came up in his voice. "You know very well what I'm referring to. We had a deal, did we not?"

Adrien took a second to think about his answer before responding. "Just because we had a deal doesn't mean I can't do it my way."

He practically heard his father shake his head. "Oh, Adrien. You really think you have the upper hand here, don't you? I knew for hours that you weren't at school, did you forget about the GPS?"

"No, I didn't." He tried to respond calmly, making sure his father couldn't intimidate him.

"Well, since you didn't hold onto your end of the bargain, I took the liberty of going my own way as well."

His breath hitched. "What do you-"

He heard ruffling on the other side of the phone, like it was being passed down.

"…Adrien?"

His blood ran cold. That was Marinette's voice. Was she sniffing? Oh no, she was. Was she crying?!

"Marinette!" He heard Plagg gasp from his spot in his neck.

Adrien petted the Kwami to calm him down, not that he was fairing any better. "It's gonna be okay, Mari. Did he hurt you? Are you okay?"

He wasn't even going to question why she was there. There was no time for that. Whatever happened, he needed to get her safe.

"I-I'm fine. Just… please come quickly. He wants you home."

"I'll be there as fast as I can! Just stay calm and don't worry!"

The line went dead after that. Adrien ran to the first alley he saw and opened his collar for Plagg to appear out of.

"Plagg."

The Kwami nodded, an angry look on his face, but also one of competitiveness, like he was ready for battle. "Just say the word, Adrien."

He smirked at that. "Claws out!"


	10. Take This City

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Under the Dome 2.0
> 
> That's all.

He was determined to save her. She could take care of herself, but he wasn't sure what was going on. He needed to be there for her if he could.

He was furious. Furious and… furry too?

Shining black fur grew around his wrists, his ankles and his neck. It was quite itchy. Why did he suddenly grow fur? Was it because of his emotions? Or just an adaptation?

He had to ask Plagg later.

He was at his house in a jiffy, being familiar with the route of course.

He didn't care if Nathalie or any other person in the house would see him enter. His father, Hawk Moth, had his girlfriend, Ladybug, and he was going to pay for that.

"Marinette!" He yelled. His voice echoed everywhere, but no response. Only one place where they could be.

Opening the painting of his mom fully to open the door, he ran up the stairs.

The butterflies blurred his vision, but Marinette's dark jacket wasn't that hard to miss.

Marinette saw him too. She ran to him and quickly pressed her lips to his. She draped her arms around his neck and shook against him, softly sobbing. "Thank goodness, you're okay."

"Of course I am, I was more worried about you." He wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"What's this?" She tugged at the fur at his wrist.

He chuckled. "I have no idea. It was just there when I transformed."

"Well, looks good."

He cupped her face and gave her another kiss on the forehead. He was so happy to see her that he completely forgot why he was here in the first place. When he rubbed his thumbs on her he could only feel the skin on her ears.

And that's wasn't right.

"No," he whispered. "No, no, no, no!"

He moved her hair away and saw that she wasn't wearing earrings, like he expected.

"I'm sorry." She started to sniff again.

"No, don't cry! It's okay, it's not your fault."

She nodded at him, but her guilt was still readable on her face.

"Where is Tikki?" He asked.

"She disappeared once I took my earrings off, so she's basically with him."

"And where is he?"

"I don't know. Right after he made me talk to you on the phone he left me here and vanished." She paused shortly to steady her breath. "Why didn't you tell me it was him?"

"I-I couldn't- you would be- it was too dangerous!"

She started to tear up again. "What about your own safety? You were literally under his roof! He could have hurt you and I wouldn't be able to help you!"

"Because you're more important to me."

She sighed and embraced him again. "We're going to figure this out. Come on, let's find your father."

He nodded. He scooped her up in his arms, bridal style. They went to the roof of the mansion. Once Marinette was settled on his back with her arms around his neck and her legs around his lower back, Chat Noir leaped across the rooftops.

He wasn't sure where he was going, but he needed to know where his father was. He could be anywhere, so anywhere would be where he would look for him.

A maniacal laugh was heard. It was loud and menacing. You could hear it all across town.

The Eiffel Tower. Of course.

Not taking any time standing around, he jumped to the top where his father was. He was in costume.

"Dad!"

"Glad you could join me, son." His gaze landed on Marinette. "I see you have brought her too."

"Why did you want me to come home, only for you to not be there? You wanted me to just pick her up and search for you later? What kind of plan is that?"

"Watch your tongue, boy, and I might give you the power you want."

"Power I want? Wha-"

He released his transformation. He removed the broach that was hidden under his scarf.

"Give me your Miraculous."

Marinette had climbed off his back in the meantime and had a defiant pose. "Not gonna happen, Mr. Agreste," she answered for Adrien.

"I thought you would say that." He snapped his fingers and, as if on cue, two people appeared behind them and grabbed Marinette. They were colorful and weird-looking.

Akumatized.

"Mari!"

She was hoisted up in the air and disappeared behind the buildings. Adrien was about to go after her, but was held back by a hand on his arm.

"Give me your Miraculous and she'll be fine."

He pulled his hand away with force. "What is wrong with you? What have you become? Why?"

"I only wanted your mother back, but then I started to see the bigger picture. Ultimate happiness. Ultimate power. We can be a family again, Adrien."

"Is being evil gonna make her return? If you know where she is, why did you never bring her back?"

"Because she's dead, Adrien!"

He had no words. They were stuck in his throat.

"She died a year ago, because I had to!"

His words started to sink in. "You had to? You- you killed her?"

"She was sick with power! Her Miraculous made her crazy. When there was no crime she kept jumping around, hurting innocent people. That's why I wanted to keep you inside. The world was dangerous!"

Adrien couldn't believe what he was hearing. His mother had been a Miraculous holder too?

"Police tried to keep it silent, the city would be in chaos if they got word of someone hurting random people. Eventually I had enough. I- I followed her. Told her to stop what she was doing. We ended up in an argument. She pushed me, I pushed her back. A-and before I knew it, she… I saw her fall down the building."

This was the first time Adrien had heard anything about his mother's disappearance. And now he even got the complete story!

"But I can bring her back!" He walked to his son and grabbed his hand. Adrien didn't pull away in his awe. "With your Miraculouses, you can bring people back from the death!"

Adrien gasped.

"So what do you say? Are you willing to give me your ring for your mother's life?"

He took it off and detransformed.

Plagg was astounded. "Adrien, what are you-"

"Here." He gave his ring to him without hesitation. "I just want my mom back."

oOo

Marinette maybe couldn't transform, but she could still kick their butts.

And she did. She shook them off quite easily. After fighting them off and hiding in an alleyway, her eyes widened.

"What the heck?!"

The city was covered with purple colors. Almost like a dome, it enveloped all of Paris. It was chilly and Marinette could feel the dark vibes in the air.

Running to the heart of the city, where everyone was gathered to see what was going on, she spotted Alya and Nino. She ran to them.

"Girl, what's going on?" Alya questioned as she hugged her.

"I don't know!"

"Where is Adrien?" Nino asked.

"I don't know!" Her panic became more evident in her voice.

Alya jumped in her nervousness. "You need to do something!"

I can't!"

Nino raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

Sighing in defeat, she moved her hair to show her bald ears.

"What?!" They both exclaimed.

"He- Hawk Moth, he took them. And Adrien is with him. They were at the Eiffel Tower, but I don't see them anymore," she said as she looked at said sighting. "I don't know what to do now!"

"I hope he's okay," Alya said as she wrapped an arm around Marinette. She rubbed her friend comfortingly.

Marinette nodded. Nino left to check on his parents, but would return after that.

Marinette felt hopeless. She didn't know where Adrien was, didn't know how he was fairing and the worst part: there wasn't anything she could do. She just had to wait and see if he could do it on his own.

People were suddenly screaming. Marinette and Alya turned to the source of the main screams, thinking there was something going on there.

Well, more like there was someone there.

"I want Marinette Dupain-Cheng!"

Her blood ran cold and she flinched. Not because it was her name that was called out, but because of the one who said it.

The voice was raspy and low. Almost… evil. But she could still recognize it.

"No."

At the sight of him she wanted to burst out in tears.

A silver mask. Purple clothing. A butterfly shaped broach on his chest. The only thing bright was his blonde hair.

"What happened to him?" Alya croaked out. She seemed to recognize him by his voice too.

She released herself from her friend's grip and walked to him. If it was her he wanted it was her he would get.

Two hands suddenly grasped her by her shoulders. One big and steady, the other small and dainty.

"Mom? Dad?"

"What in the world is going on?" Her father asked.

"Who is that? Why does he want to see you?" Her mother sounded alarmed and very concerned.

She pulled away from them.

If today would go well, if she would still be alive after today and everything would be all right, she would tell them everything. Heck, she would scream it off the roofs to everyone in Paris.

But then she needed to do something first.

She needed to save the city.

She needed to save Adrien.

"I'll explain everything once this is over, but I need to go to him now."

Without further explanation, she walked to the middle of the crowd where Adrien was standing. He immediately saw her and smirked.

"I'm here!" She called. "Now it's time for you to act normal again. Give me that broach, now."

He shook his head. "We both know that's not gonna happen."

She sighed. "What do you want?"

He grasped her by her hand and planted a kiss on it. "For you to have the world, M'Lady. But I need you to be on my side first."

She smacked him in the face. She felt so bad for it, she would never want to hurt Adrien, but it wasn't him, right? He didn't act like him anyway.

"You better start being yourself now, Adrien." She said his name out loud and didn't care if the whole city could hear it. "You don't want to make me mad, now do you?" She looked up at the sky and pointed at it. "What's this all about?"

He looked up as well and smiled. He didn't seems to be taken aback by her hit at all. "Isn't it beautiful? This is just step one. All will be well after this. We'll be a family again."

"…Family?"

He smiled and grabbed her hand once more. "Come with me and I'll show you. No need to be scared."

"I'm not scared of you."

"Then there is no reason for you to not follow me." He pulled her a bit to him. "Shall we?"

She hesitated. She was sure he wouldn't hurt her, but she wasn't sure what to expect to happen. She did want to know what was going on though. "Okay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Terribly sorry for the shorter chapter, but I wanted to post it so badly and had to end it here to get it done in time.
> 
> Any suspicions about where the story might go? I always love to know your thoughts!
> 
> Also, don't be mad that they recognized Adrien by his voice while they can't even figure it out in the show when he's Chat, but otherwise things wouldn't move forward. So yeah.
> 
> Btw, is it just me or does the last note from the first chapter keep coming back every chapter? I don't know if it's all the time or just in my editing mode, so tell me if that's the case!

**Author's Note:**

> And that's the first chapter. It's not incredibly long and it doesn't really have a lot of action, but I like it and it has a lot of lovey-dovey goodness.
> 
> So, like I said at the beginning, I don't really know what I want to write. I do have a more clear idea now that I actually started writing the story, but your ideas are always appreciated.
> 
> O bee-tee-dubs, I just call Marinette Ladybug or Marinette depending on if she's wearing her costume or not, same goes for Adrien. I thought it would be clearer for you guys to understand who's talking. And also, I called Adrien Cat Noir instead of Chat Noir, since that is what they call him in the English version. If you like Chat better just tell me, and I'll change it. I personally like Chat better, but I wrote Cat because this is an English story.
> 
> Edit: I changed everything to Chat Noir. I will use this for the rest of story.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it and until next time!
> 
> Bug out!


End file.
